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BY S. W. MOORE, D.D., 

It 

OF THE MEMPHIS CONFERENCE. 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 

THOS. O. SUMMERS, D.D. 



NASHVILLE, TENN.: 
SOUTHEEN METHODIST PUBLISHING HOUSE. 

1875. 




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by 

S. W. MOOKE, D.D., 
in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



do 

The Kev. Joseph B. West, D.D., and the Eevs. S. P. Whitten, 
J. E. Plummer, A. Mizell, C. C. Mayhew, J. G. Myers, 
J. B. Hamilton, J. B. McClure, J. W. Tarrant, of 
the Tennessee Conference; the Bev. W. E. Ellis, 
of the North Mississippi Conference; the 
Kev. Joseph Turrentine, of the 
Little Bock Conference; 
And the Kev. "W. C. Johnson, Editor of the Western Methodist; 
and to the memory of the Bevs. Joseph E. White, B. B. 
Abernathy, J. L. Hill, M. P. Parham, and 
William Cooley, who died in the 
faith and in the work; 

Faithful brethren all, who, with the Author, were admitted on trial 
into the Tennessee Conference, at Columbia, A.D. 1844, and 
into full connection, at Nashville, A.D. 1846: 

"OUR CHURCH IN SANDBURG" 

IS respectfully and affectionately 
5@ tfcuateir. 



INTRODUCTION. 



OTJE excellent friend, the author of this work, 
caused the sheets- to be laid on our table while 
they were passing through the press, in order to elicit 
our opinion. "We have read it. 

"And now, what of it? Is it a work of fiction?" 
Yes — no. 

"Our Church in Sandburg" is as much Utopian as 
"Post-Oak Circuit;" but the reader who is acquainted 
with the history of Methodism for the past thirty 
years, especially in the South-west, will not be at a 
loss to locate " Sandburg," and to identify every minis- 
ter and member of "Our Church " at the place. The 
characters are drawn to the life: Snell, Ticknor, Grum- 
bles, Peters, Trigg, Standby, Hardwill — Old Sister 
Phipps and Aunt Euthie — and many others, of both 
sexes, saints and sinners, preachers and teachers, stew- 
ards and singers — surely, we have seen them all in the 
flesh — and the reader will know them all at sight! 

The fluctuating fortunes of a small station are truth- 
fully depicted — pastors are individualized — there were 
twenty-six in " Our Church in Sandburg," during the 

(5) 



6 Introduction. 

thirty years over which this history extends — Presid- 
ing Elders are photographed — local preachers are 
brought into favorable notice — the inevitable conten- 
tion about instrumental music, with the usual victory 
on the side of those who advocated its use — suppers, 
concerts, etc., to raise supplies — development in the 
Sunday-school — attainment of a respectable social 
status and settled prosperity — all these, and other mat- 
ters, are presented with striking verisimilitude, as if 
the author, as will be suspected, had been quorum pars. 

It is quite likely that he anticipated our agreement 
with him in his views on the various points here pre- 
sented; if so, he was not mistaken. Those who wish 
a pleasing and correct concrete view of Methodism 
in this region — the system in its actual working — will 
find it in this charming volume. T. O. S. 

Publishing House of the M. E. Church, South, ) 
Nashville, April 22, 1874. J 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 



History proposed — Family name — Two questions — Loca- 
tion — " The Meeting-house 7 ' — How it was built — Society 
in Sandburg — Kepresentative men — Kepresentative 
members — Local preacher — Other names hereafter — 
Undeveloped country 15 



CHAPTER II. 

First year — Our appointment — Court-house, etc. — Popula- 
tion — Amusements, and literary status — Large circuit- 
Sunday preaching — Brother Briggs, senior preacher — 
Brother Searcy, junior preacher — His trials — A revi- 
val — Our first Sunday-school singularly constituted — 
Did good — Fate of our superintendent 28 



CHAPTER III. 

First year continued — Two valuable assistants — Religion 
superior to sectarianism — A striking incident — A re- 
markable friendship , 37 

(?) 



Contents. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Second year — Nondescript Sunday-school dissolved — The 
new preachers, Brothers Thomas and Ashton — Appear- 
ance, labors, advancement, and fate of Brother Ashton — 
Brother Thomas a solid man — Was he a great preacher? 
— Obstacles and adversaries — Worldliness rebuked — A 
rival denomination — Pastoral labor needed and sup- 
plied — Additions — Annoyances — "Fool Billy" — Sister 
Euthie — Self-important brother " goes up" — A scandal- 
ous apostate — Church grows — Grand quarterly meeting 
and love-feast 43 



CHAPTER V. 

Second year continued — Growth of Sandburg — Increase 
of Our Church — A caveat — Eiches to be consecrated — 
Marriage of the preacher — A wolf in the fold — Sunday- 
school reopened — A camp-meeting— Glorious results.... 54 



CHAPTER VI. 

Third year — The anxious question — Brothers Snell and 
Hurt — Brother Snell' s levity — Does no good; is ignorant, 
fussy, and sinks to obscurity — Brother Hurt a better 
man — He is popular — A study — Brother Gliddon's wise 
counsel — A noble rally— Two remarkable conversions 
— We want a stationed preacher — Presiding Elder prom- 
ises assistance 62 



CHAPTER VII. 

Fourth year — The Bishop's visit and ministrations — Does 
God direct his people? — Egbert Worth stationed in 
Sandburg — The man, his labors and studies — Church 



Contents. 



9 



PAGE 

thronged—A wonderful revival and increase — A be- • 
reavement — Place supplied — Old Brother Carsner 
retires — New class-leader — A rich, proud steward- 
Sunday-school prospers — "Thank some brother to raise 
the tune.'' 76 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Fourth year continued — Compactness — Not numbers, but 
animus — Eelentless conflict — Growing importance of 
Sandburg — Presbyterians — Their pastor — Another or- 
ganization; claims all, allows none — The harness off, 
and on again — Godly women — "Old Sister Phipps" 
prays loud — Advantage of quarterly meetings — Fanati- 
cism rebuked 85 



CHAPTER IX. 

Fifth, sixth, and seventh years — Cultivating the field — 
. Methodism grows apace — Sandburg, a central point — 
Brother Lang — His style and spirit — Church polity 
discussed- — Christian education — School proposed — 
Brother Davidson — Scholarly and exact — Diversities 
of gifts — Preacher's wife — She labors much — Books 
and Advocates — Two candidates for the ministry — 
Brother Lowe — Stately and morose, but preaches well 
— Eeaction: worldliness and coldness — Dancing, and 
other follies — Our testimony — A "Stonewall" in the 
Church 92 



CHAPTER X. 

Eighth year — "Sandburg Station, James Eider" — "Angel 

of the Church" — Brother Eider's odd looks and unique 

ways — Powerful exhorter — High-school established — 
1% 



10 



Contents. 



PAGE 

Addresses — Opinions discussed: education is not re- 
ligion — May be aided by it — Congregation mixed — 
Preacher's troubles — Emerges unliurt — Progress 106 



CHAPTER XI. 

Ninth and tenth years — Dr. Godfrey — A model man — In- 
imitable preacher — A serio-comic act — Brother Lawne, 
local preacher, a sound man — Sunday-school and Bible- 
classes — The stewards mortified — They "come up to the 
help" — Dr. Godfrey returned — Church flourishes — A 
glorious work — Scenes and incidents — u Quench not 
the Spirit" — Converted in his buggy — Fourth quarterly 
meeting: three young preachers licensed — Presiding 
Elder, a man of faith and power 116 



CHAPTER XII. 

Eleventh and twelfth years — Home mission work — 
Good results — Brother Liskew, our new preacher — Does 
better than appearances — Keaction, after tension — 
Christmas frolics— A proud woman makes trouble — 
What is to be done ? — Turn her out ! — Religion in high 
life — Temptation and flight — Brilliant example — 
Brother Liskew' s second year — Bigotry crops out — Ne- 
gro-traders — Sandburg grows — Line of stage-coaches — 
Sins of civilization 128 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Thirteenth year — Brother Gilliam — A pleasing, book- 
ish, working preacher — Change of times — Church out 
of date — Must build a new and larger — God must have 
the best — The sisters lend aid — About fairs, suppers, 
and concerts — A liberal soul — Built and dedicated — 



Contents. 



11 



Changes — Brother Hall sleeps in Jesus — Brother 
Ticknor forsakes ns — Their places filled — Two dissimi- 
lar officers — Brother Lawne moves away — His place 
filled— Brother Grumbles wants "to make the con- 
tempt" to preach — Brother Gilliam marries 140 



CHAPTEE XIV. 

Fourteenth year — Conference in Sandburg — Perplexing 
privilege — William Smith, station-preacher — " Who on 
earth is he?" — Discouragement — Comforted — Works 
and wins — Brother Broom's experience and zeal— A 
vision — Brother Foreman's weakness — The world turns 
— Preacher's wife helps him — Kevival — A concert — A 
failure — Sending forth laborers — Epidemic — First 
Psalms or Second Philip 150 



CHAPTEE XV. 

Fifteenth year — Brother Morton, preacher — His charac- 
ter — Large family — An old slander — A broken heart — 
Safe administration — Spiritual life — Lining the hymns — 
A trouble cured — Sudden fall — Professor Chardon's 
apostasy — Two acquisitions and their story — Our super- 
numerary — Migratory population , 161 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Sixteenth and seventeenth years — Brother Pollock's 
coming, works, and death — A Christian death — A 
supply — Too much for one — Revival and romance — 
Brother Burleson our preacher — A mistake — A year of 
gloom — Universalist preacher — A happy death sancti- 
fied to good — A train — Farewell to Sister Phipps — 
Aunt Euthie's burial — Under a cloud 171 



12 



Contents. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Eighteenth and nineteenth years — Eailroad and tele- 
graph — Brother Alfred Marsden — Civilization — 
Preacher labors — Sinner dies — Dr. Josephs's faith — A 
case of lay baptism- — Good preaching — Zion refreshed — 
Brother Marsden' s second year — Children sing — All 
sing — Israel rejoices — No formula — A Timothy sent 
forth — Baptists and Cumberlands organize — Help and 
health 179 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Twentieth and twenty-first years — Eev. Dr. Roberts — 
His household — Sandburg remodeled — A bank and a 
banker — Mischief done — Additions — Col. Green — Dr. 
Haines — Brother Rowland — A liberal sinner — Not much 
progress — Dr. Roberts returned — " Marrying out of 
meeting" — Which should yield? — A storm of trouble — 
Discretion and loyalty — Preacher broken down.. 188 



CHAPTEE SIX. 

Twentieth and twenty-first years continued — Uniform 
teaching — Spiritism and ministering angels — A sermon 
— Sound doctrine proves churchship.. 196 



CHAPTER XX. 

Twenty-second year — Brother Edmunds, station-preacher 
— Bright sword with dull edge — No execution — Social 
meetings and Sunday-school — Bad health — Place sup- 
plied — Pastor's labors needed — Church-music: organ or 
no organ — Old Methodism invoked — Charity is kind — 



Contents. 



13 



PAGE 

Losses and additions — The Waters family — The Fitz- 
James connection — A star that shone and expired in 
shame 207 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Twenty-third, twenty-fourth, and twenty-fifth years — A 
season of repose — Brother Trigg's two years — Suspected, 
approved — Eccentric habits — -Good wife — Johnnie — 
Brother Trigg sings— A new hat— " That's a fact! "—El- 
oquence — Unequally yoked — Brother Windham takes 
the station — Is a stormer, in spite of his faults — Good 
work — Stewards in trouble — Eepairs needed — Ways and 
means: What and which ?— School declining — Some- 
thing must be done 216 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh years — Retrograde mo- 
tion — The case explained — Cheap preacher — Profes- 
sor Smith, pastor — Too much to do — Something 
neglected — What makes history? — Social perfection — 
Society "made for man" — Music again — An obstinate 
fight — Brother Waters favors — Brother Standby opposes 
— Brother Fitz-James explains — Organ voted in — 
Brother Hardwill implacable — Was prayer answered? — 
Hard work and poor pay 227 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Twenty-eighth year — Br. Easton, pastor — Big preacher — 
Five children — Litany! — A business meeting — Great 
agony — Advanced ground — A parsonage — The Doctor's 
appearance and style — Couldn't talk — Didn't know 
the children — Union effort — Two only Churches— Pas- 
tor's wife needs improving — What is the matter? 239 



14 



Contents. 



CHAPTER XXIY. 

Twenty-ninth and thirtieth years — Brother English, pas- 
tor — Meets expectation — Wild delight — Wins the chil- 
dren — New life — "Servant of the Most High God" — 
Precious season — Scene in a boarding-house — Sick com- 
forted — Sin rebuked — "Surely once the garden flour- 
ished" — His second term — Gets sick — Is patient — 
Brother Edwards goes home — Liquor -dealer's death — 
High-school wanes — Hie jacet — Thirty years ended 248 



CHAPTER XXY. 

^Reflections — Gratulations — Deductions 



257 



OUR CHURCH IN SANDBURG. 



CHAPTER I. 

History proposed — Family name — Two questions — Location 
— "The Meeting-house" — How it was built—Society in 
Sandburg — Eepresentative men — Eepresentative members 
— Local preacher — Other names hereafter — Undeveloped 
country. 

I PROPOSE to write the history of a Methodist 
Church, beginning at the date of my earliest 
recollection, and tracing its career through a period 
of thirty years. I am to record its vicissitudes — its 
struggles in the day of small things — its battles 
against opposing forces — its seasons of revival and 
of coldness, as these varied ./times passed over it 
during a generation. 

Memory recalls the holy zeal of its members, 
whose mutual affection and devotion to a common 
cause found frequent utterance in the phrase, " Our 
Church." In sympathy with that sentiment — a 
sympathy unchanged by half a century — I adopt 
their family name, and write of Our Church — its rank 
and file, its chiefs, its pastors — detailing with care 

(15) 



16 



Our Church ln t Sandburg. 



and candor their errors, their virtues, their failures, 
and their triumphs. 

The design of this history is not merely to per- 
petuate the names and dates of a past age; it is 
rather to embalm the deeds and friendships of by- 
gone days — to paint portraits in which expression 
shall be more fondly prized than lifeless features, 
and thus preserve fresh and familiar in the living 
present whatever was noblest and dearest in the 
buried past. 

A modern writer asserts that there are two ques- 
tions to be answered in writing biography: "What 
influence did the departed exert on society? and 
"What influence did society exert on hini?" Accept- 
ing this assertion as both true and wise, I shall 
keep its philosophy constantly in mind, and en- 
deavor to show wherein and how much Our Church 
affected the destinies of society, and wherein and 
how far its course was modified by outside influence. 

Since this record is in no sense a geographical 
treatise, but merely a recital of the rise and progress 
of a certain association of people during a stated 
period, there seems to be no reason why the exact 
location should be given. However, this much 
may be said: The location appears on the map be- 
tween the longitude of Washington, on the east, 
and the Mississippi River, on the west; and be- 
tween the thirty-fifth and thirty-seventh degrees of 
north latitude. Within these confines stands the 
town of Sandburg, the seat and theater of the 
scenes and transactions detailed in these pages. 
Alas! there live now but few who walked those 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



17 



sandy streets and worshiped in that dear little tem- 
ple at the time from which these annals begin. 

" The meeting-house, " as above intimated, was 
small. It was a framed building, not painted, but 
very respectable for "the people called Method- 
ists" of that day, in that section of country. The 
"society" was also small, numbering, I suppose, 
not more than thirty names. But they were zeal- 
ous, devoted, united. I recall, even now, the boyish 
wonder with which I used to listen to a chorus 
which they often sang to one of their favorite songs: 

We're all united, heart and hand, 

Joined in one band completely; 
We are marching to Immanuel's land, 

Where the waters now more sweetly. 

This close union resulted, no doubt, partly from 
uniform views of doctrines and similar experience — 
for herein they walked by the same rule and 
minded the same things; but it was made more 
conspicuous by the outside pressure of an un- 
friendly community — an unfriendliness as distinctly 
marked as the religious character of the brethren. 
Some outsiders regarded them with contempt, others 
with indifference, and others still with feelings of 
bitter opposition. Methodism was not at all pop- 
ular. To espouse it meant conflict always with 
public opinion, sometimes with friends and relatives. 

How, then, could a society, so feeble and so un- 
popular, build for themselves a house so respectable? 
It was easily done: The members all gave what 
they could in cash and material, and some of them 



18 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



did much of the work. For instance, Brother 
Carsner had a saw-mill a few miles off, Brother 
Sizemore was a number-one woodsman, Brother 
Lewis owned a good team; so it was easy for these 
three to contribute liberally in cutting, hauling, and 
sawing lumber. Nearly all the citizens contributed; 
some because they owned real estate, and knew that 
a good church would add to the general character 
of the town, and perhaps increase the value of 
building-lots; and others because it was then con- 
sidered a social duty to assist a neighbor at a 
" house-raising," and they did not discriminate be- 
tween this enterprise and the more common one of 
raising a private house. There were a few who de- 
sired to meet their fellow-citizens as often and in as 
large numbers as possible: they were candidates for 
popular favor. Sunday suited them as well as 
any other day, and hence they subscribed liberally 
to the undertaking. So it turned out, that by get- 
ting help from all these sources, our little flock soon 
finished the best church-edifice in all that region. 
Except in the one fact of its unpainted exterior, it 
was nearly equal to the best building of any kind 
in Sandburg. 

Allusion was made above to the tone of pub- 
lic opinion that prevailed in and around town. 
That tone, it must be confessed, was neither pure 
nor high. A few examples of representative men 
in different grades of society will show the char- 
acter of the people among whom our brethren 
lived. But before naming individuals, let me say 
generally: There were some well-educated men and 



Our Church in Sandburg. 19 



women ; a larger number who were well informed 
and practically wise, but unlearned in books; and a 
yet greater mass who ranged from bare ability to 
read, down to wholly unlettered ignorance. These 
classes made up the people of Sandburg and the 
surrounding country. Now, more particularly, let 
me introduce some of the fellow-citizens of my 
boyhood's days. 

Philip Krumpter was a well-to-do farmer, not far 
from town, lived high, and kept free house, after 
the fashion of the times. He warmed himself in 
winter and cooled himself in summer with brandy 
made at his own distillery. There was no Bible in 
his house till the Bible Society furnished it. His 
sons and daughters — he had two of each — were 
leaders in all the frolics of town and neighborhood, 
had been to dancing-school, and were far better ed- 
ucated in their heels than in their heads. When 
they went to preaching, it was for recreation, to see 
their friends, or to amuse themselves by laughing at 
the exercises. A warm, stirring song, with lively 
chorus, was, in their estimation, " mighty funny;" 
and a shout stimulated their ridicule to the highest 
pitch. Their property gave them the passport to 
respectability — their merry living drew around them 
a considerable circle of friends. Their influence 
was all against religion — avowedly against Our 
Church. 

Ezekiel Snow was another prominent citizen, an 
ignorant man, as to books, but practically wise in 
worldly things. He had grown rich by hard work 
and rigid economy, was very moral in his habits, 



20 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



sober and temperate in all things, was one of 
the few outsiders who never used profane language; 
but he evinced no interest at all in religion. He 
occasionally took his family to preaching — his 
house was a mile and a half from town — when the 
weather was fine and the roads were good, so that 
he could drive up in impressive style; but he re- 
mained out of doors or occupied a back seat, looked 
unconcerned, and returned home well satisfied with 
himself. His w^ife claimed to be a Presbyterian, 
was an exemplary woman, but had no church of her 
sort near enough to attend, and not being a very 
positive character, her influence in the family was 
scarcely perceivable, and the children grew up in a 
kind of genteel ungodliness. 

Joshua Freed, a man in pretty good circumstances, 
was a worse man than either of those before-named. 
He was dissolute in morals — followed with greedi- 
ness all the baser amusements of the day, such as 
gander-pulling and cock-fighting. He kept game 
chickens, and did not scruple to spend Sunday in 
this cruel pastime. His family consisted of four 
boj's, who were growing up, at this time, without 
restraint and without home association, except that 
of their wicked father and of careless servants. 
Their mother died when the youngest was born. 
Their house was a lawless abode of passion and 
revelry, and their life in society, till excesses in 
crime disgraced both father and sons, was a deadly 
miasma. 

It is pleasing to pass to a better model of man- 
hood, though he was not all that true manhood 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



21 



implies. Col. John Mount was the most exten- 
sively known and by far the. most popular citizen 
of Sandburg. He was every inch a man in size 
and features, and a perfect gentleman in manners 
and address. He had inherited large property, was 
thoroughly college-bred, and lived up to the high- 
est standard of easy elegance. Having no profes- 
sional engagements, and being ambitious of polit- 
ical preferment, he was frequently a candidate for 
public favors, and was several times elected to the 
State Legislature, and afterward to Congress. It 
was considered, at that time, necessary for a candidate 
to treat the people on public occasions: his success 
depended more upon the amount of whisky he dis- 
tributed than upon the brains he possessed; and 
Col. Mount found the affections of the masses more 
readily secured by a well-filled jug than by the 
sparkling creations of a well-filled mind. But 
while he showed his liberality by profuse treating, 
he must evince his sympathy with the dear people 
by partaking of the treat; and thus he grew so 
fond of his dram that, though seldom really drunk, 
he was more seldom perfectly sober. His influence 
over all classes was very great: unfortunately, it 
was on the wrong side; for while he was a believer 
in Christianity, and showed its professors profound 
respect, he served the world and advocated sin with 
the whole energy of his being. His example was a 
stumbling-block to many who mistook his pleasing 
manners for genuine virtues, and, in admiring his 
brilliant qualities, readily glided into his pernicious 
vices. 



22 



Our Church m Sandburg. 



One of the most highly esteemed young men of 
Sandburg was John Dexter, attorney at law. He 
was a handsome man, witty and fascinating in con- 
versation, and was, therefore, much courted in so- 
ciety. Fun was his besetting sin, and this he could 
extort from every subject, however grave, that 
chanced to be introduced. Thus, though not an 
avowed infidel, he diverted the thoughts of others 
from serious matters, and drew them into all kinds 
of reckless gayety. These, with the Gibbons fam- 
ily — rich, and worldly-minded — and Dr. Browman 
— a popular physician, whose daughters were beau- 
ties and belles — give a fair outline view of our 
social surroundings. That is, these were the lead- 
ers of outside life: what they said and did was law 
to those below them in society — a law more potent 
in shaping the destinies of a generation than the 
statutes of a powerful government. 

I need not mention the names of many who 
dragged out their days of weary toil without im- 
pressing their fellow-men. Of these there are some 
whose brief prominence will appear in this narra- 
tive; but the rest — passive as they were in the 
transactions of their day — such as Joe Sizeman, who 
said, "Of all sorts of fresh meat, give me good old 
bacon," and Peter Overton, the wood-hewer, who 
said, "I never expect to feel befitten to join any 
religious society; but if I ever do, it will be the 
Freemasons" — did nothing worthy to be recorded. 
It is sad to think of the multitudes who live, labor, 
suffer, and die, and are forgotten forever. Not un- 
noticed by their God while living, not forgotten by 



Our Church in Sandburg. 23 



him in the profound solitude of their graves, they 
pass into an oblivion with men, as nameless as 
leaves in a wilderness. 

I will now introduce some of our most conspic- 
uous members, as memory calls back their features: 
First comes the venerable James Carsner, the old 
class-leader. We all called him Uncle Jimmie, for 
he was a general favorite with the young people, 
and enjoyed the full confidence of the whole com- 
munity. He was tall, large-framed, slightly bent 
by age, with keen black eyes, benevolent features, 
and a full shock of gray hair — the crown of a noble 
life. His broad, beaming face was always cleanly 
shaved on meeting days — it was unchristian then to 
wear long beard. Uncle Jimmie " seemed to be a 
pillar" in the Church. His zeal knew no abatement, 
his judgment was sound, his social status good, 
his reputation unchallenged. "When he led class, it 
was as one having authority; but it was a paternal 
authority, for he was kind to the erring, gentle to 
the timid, sympathetic with the sorrowing, and able 
to guide to higher attainments those who were 
growing in grace. When he prayed in public, it 
was as one having power with God, for heaven 
seemed near to earth as he appealed to the throne 
of grace. When he sang, what a voice! how clear! 
how strong! His favorite song was, 

The voice of free grace cries, Escape to the mountain; 
and when he launched out in those lofty strains, 
there was a mellowness in the tone that spoke the 
feelings of an earnest and honest heart, and secured 
the reverent attention of the congregation. Every- 



24 Our Church in Sandburg. 



body acknowledged him to be a good man, even 
those who added, "but an enthusiast." 

Not far from him lived old Mother Black, then 
the oldest Methodist . in those parts. She was a 
lovely specimen of aged womanhood, was the 
mother of a large family, whose children — the 
Blacks and Lewises — perpetuated her vigorous char- 
acter and her Christian faith. They constituted, to 
a great extent, the strength of our little society. 
Sister Lewis, oldest daughter of Mother Black, was 
the most' demonstrative member among us. I rec- 
ollect how heartily she used to shout, and how the 
cold chills would thrill me when her wild key-note, 
"Glory! glory!" gave the signal of a general out- 
burst of praise. She reared a lovely family — none 
of them remarkable for intellect or culture, but all 
remarkable for uniform and consistent piety. Her 
daughter Mattie, a meek and gentle girl, was a great 
pet with both boys and girls in the village school. 
Even those who made light of her religion, and de- 
clared it impossible for one so young to be a Chris- 
tian, respected her virtues and admired her beautiful 
life. The untimely death of this amiable girl 
was, if I remember correctly, the first loss Our 
Church sustained. It was indeed a shock to her 
schoolmates, who knew but little of death, and fol- 
lowed her to the grave with strange and silent 
wonder. It was a serious loss to the Church-mem- 
bers, for they doted on their little sister, and antici- 
pated a rich harvest of good works in the maturity 
of her life. 

We were blessed with the labors of a local 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



25 



preacher, Rev. John Givons. He was a comely 
man, and pleasant to look upon, about thirty years 
old, very positive in his manner, free and fluent in 
conversation, but sometimes too solemn and gloomy 
in expression. His zeal was fervent and tireless, 
but his gifts as a preacher were not of a high order. 
His delivery was plain, his voice rather monotonous, 
his gesticulations too rapid and stormy. He was a 
saddle and harness maker, managed a large shop, 
and worked himself a portion of the time; he was, 
therefore, not expected to preach carefully-prepared 
sermons. But his sound sense, practical illustra- 
tions, and blameless life, secured and maintained 
the general respect of the people. 

There were two other families, the Crossties and 
Mundays, persons in medium condition as to prop- 
erty, and more moderate as to cultivation, who 
were sound in the faith and reputable in Christian 
character. Nearly all of these two family connec- 
tions were devoted Methodists, bearing the burden 
of our unpopular name and cause with commenda- 
ble firmness. Socially, they were among the best 
of their class, and were no mean element of our 
strength. 

There were in our little band a few of the poorest 
of the pdor. The Browder family, utterly thriftless 
in worldly matters, professed to be laying up treas- 
ure in heaven. Mrs. Baughn, the hapless wife of 
a miserably-worthless man, claimed and received 
the fellowship and sympathy of our sisterhood. 
Baughn, whose wealth consisted in a poor charac- 
ter and eight unpromising children, lived about 
2 



26 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



half a mile from town, in a cheerless, leaky, pine- 
log cabin. The old lady had higher aspirations 
than her do-less lord, had seen better days before 
the star of wedlock shone malignantly on her des- 
tiny, and would often pour out her sorrows in 
strains of womanly eloquence in the presence of her 
more fortunate sisters. But she had a disagreeable 
twang in her voice, and a flippant alliteration in her 
language, which often produced disgust or mirth 
where she sought for pity or assistance. There was 
something laughable in her frequent and fluent use 
of the term, " Seems like." On one occasion, when 
she had called upon a neighbor for creature or 
mental comforts, and was bewailing her isolation 
from society, she closed her lamentable story by 
saying, "Seems like I never see nobody, without 
somebody goes by; and seems like nobody never 
goes by, for I never see nobody go by, seems like." 
I have recalled our good Sister Baughn from the 
long-forgotten grave in which she slumbers, not to 
furnish an item of amusement, but to illustrate a 
fact in history. 

These brief sketches must suffice for the present. 
Other names will be introduced when needed to 
portray the onward progress of Our Church. And 
since this is not a biography, confined to the life of 
one man; and not a romance, delineating the char- 
acter of an imaginary hero, just so much informa- 
tion about particular individuals will be given as 
may be necessary to exhibit the parts they acted, 
and the influence they exerted, as year succeeds 
year in the narrative. 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



27 



Our location was not really in the back-woods, 
but it was in an undeveloped region of country. 
Sandburg was an interior town, far from the great 
centers of thought and trade. Once a week the 
mail came to our post-office. The post-boy, who 
brought the scant mail-bag on horseback, was our 
" herald of a noisy world." He was then as im- 
portant as a railroad postal-car is nowadays. 
Great affairs of State, and great disasters on land 
and sea, were unknown to us for weeks after they 
occurred. The conflict in Congress between Adams, 
Jackson, and Clay, was decided a week before we 
knew it; and Commodore Porter's malfeasance and 
arrest, and the melancholy fate of the noble sloop 
Hornet, were stale news on the sea-shore when the 
weekly papers first made them known among us. 



23 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



CHAPTER II. 



First year — Our appointment — Court-house, etc. — Population 
— Amusements, and literary status — Large circuit — Sun- 
day preaching — Brother Briggs, senior preacher — Brother 
Searcy, junior preacher- — His trials— A revival — Our first 
Sunday-school singularly constituted—Did good — Fate of 
our superintendent. 

O ANDBURGr, though called a town, was really 



k-J a village. It was a county-seat: there was a 
court-house of tolerable appearance, with the at- 
tachments of justice then in vogue, such as a jail, 
a pillory, and a whipping-post. The last two have 
long since given place to more humane, but more 
expensive, modes of punishment. 

The population numbered about three or four 
hundred. But the surrounding land was thickly 
settled, and we scarcely knew the exact boundary 
between town and country. In the preceding chap- 
ter a general view of society is presented. Let me 
add, that the amusements of the young people con- 
sisted in parties, balls, and other gatherings for 
social enjoyment, at which fun and frolic were al- 
ways free and unrestrained. Dancing was an ac- 
complishment not to be neglected — to refuse, or 
abjure it, was considered unsocial and unrefined. 
Literary culture was not essential to high social 




Our Church in Sandburg. 29 



position. I heard a popular beauty declare her in- 
tention to go to America, in response to a gentle- 
man's remark, that the Americans loved pork and 
hominy. A Thespian Society, in which the young 
men cultivated their theatrical talents, and gave oc- 
casional entertainments, was their chief literary 
enterprise. 

Our Church was a comparatively small portion of 
the population, and feeble in material resources. 
The large majority of the people were "outsiders." 
I mentioned, in the first chapter, one Presbyterian 
lady: she was alone in her denominational faith. 
There were several Baptists in and around town, 
but their place of worship was about six miles dis- 
tant, near a pond, which they used as a bap- 
tistery. There were also a few Lutherans among 
us, but they had no organization, seldom received 
any pastoral attention, and were sadly deficient in 
religious training. They treated the preaching of 
our ministers with a shy and distant respect: some 
of them spoke of .it with haughty contempt. 

There was preaching at our appointment twice a 
month : once by the senior preacher on the circuit, 
and once by the " helper," as the junior preacher 
was then called. Ours was a Sunday appointment. 
The circuit was very extensive — covered more terri- 
tory than most Presiding Elders' Districts do nowa- 
days. The preachers looked jaded when they rode 
into town Saturday evening; and as they walked 
into the meet\pg-house on Sunday, with saddle-bags 
on their arms, they inspired the respect due to men 
of noble purpose and heroic toil. 



30 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



The senior preacher this year was the Eev. Zacha- 
riah Briggs. He was then, I judge, about forty-five 
years of age; and, though much battered by hard- 
fought battles, he possessed a wonderful reserve of 
physical and mental activity. Both of these he em- 
ployed without stint in the pulpit. He had been a 
carpenter before he joined Conference, and was not 
by any means an educated man. This fact caused 
certain fastidious people to question both his right 
and his ability to preach the gospel. However, his 
strong natural sense, clear statements of doctrine, 
zealous exhortations, and his powerful appeals to 
God in prayer, soon commanded attention and re- 
buked criticism. " The common people heard him 
gladly." To these qualities in public he added a 
most pleasing manner in private. His suavity, sim- 
plicity, and meekness were so remarkable as to 
secure the sincere esteem of his flock. Yet he was 
very firm, and, some thought, too unyielding in the 
administration of discipline. Perhaps he did not 
exercise enough charity toward the short-comings 
of his fellow mortals; but as this failing " leaned to 
virtue's side," and was apparent only when the 
cause of Christ seemed to be in danger, it did not 
diminish his popularity nor curtail his usefulness. 

The "helping preacher," Brother Searcy, was the 
exact antithesis of his senior. He was a tall, 
roughly-built young man, awkward in the pulpit, 
awkward in company, and of unpromising appear- 
ance every way. His education amounted to a bare 
ability to read; his experience was short and pain- 
ful, for this was his first year in the work. Men of 



Our Church in Sandburg. 31 



the world made sport of the poor boy's ungainly 
appearance and blundering efforts. Lawyer Dexter 
had a fine subject for wit and ridicule, and was 
not backward in pointing his shafts at the unoffend- 
ing youth. One of the weak brethren — inclined to 
be ashamed of whatever the world chose to laugh 
at— treated the young preacher coldly, gave him 
discouraging advice, and had well-nigh made him 
abandon the field in despair. But Brother Briggs 
came to his aid with better counsel: "Don't be dis- 
couraged, Brother Searcy," said he; " everybody 
has to make a beginning. Pray much, read your 
books, study your Bible, trust in God, and go for- 
ward; for he has called you to this work, and you 
dare not give it up." Taking hope and heart from 
this earnest advice, he went on his way around the 
circuit. Some, the more thoughtful brethren of 
Sandburg, were especially kind to him on his re- 
turn; and when Sister Lewis shouted under his 
preaching, and thanked the Lord for sending such 
messages of grace to his people, he was wonderfully 
encouraged, and advanced so much in preaching- 
ability, that his " profiting appeared to all." More 
than one sinner who laughed him to scorn when he 
first came among us, trembled under his rebukes 
before the year expired. 

Toward the end of this summer the labors of 
these faithful men were crowned with success. The 
humble and importunate prayers of the little flock 
were answered in showers of mercy. A revival 
broke upon the town — a sweeping tornado; for a 
revival in those days was no tame affair. There was 



32 Our Church m Sandburg. 



power in song, in prayer, in sermon, in exhortation: 
a power which moved the hardest and humbled the 
proudest sinner. The happy death of the lovely 
young Christian, mentioned on a former page, had 
not lost its softening influence on her associates. It 
had caused them to take a new view of religion, 
and to set a higher value upon it. Hence, many of 
them eagerly embraced this opportunity to seek 
" the pearl of great price." 

"We shall find the fruits of this gracious work in 
the future of this narrative, and may, therefore, re- 
frain now from farther details, except one sad item : 
while many entered into the troubled waters and 
were made whole, the majority made excuses, some 
mocked, and others stood aloof with cold indiffer- 
ence, and "were not saved." 

Our first Sunday-school was organized this year, 
concerning which I have somewhat singular to re- 
late. In those days the various denominations had 
not assumed control over their own Sunday-schools. 
All cooperated with the American Sunday-school 
Union, used its books, and contributed their money 
to its support. Every Sunday-school society or 
association was "Auxiliary to the A. S. S. Union." 
About this time the subject was first agitated 
throughout our country, and an agent of the Union, 
in prosecuting his work, arrived and opened his 
mission in Sandburg. The scheme struck nearly 
everybody as plausible — no one could see any harm 
in trying it — and so it was resolved, by common 
consent, to establish a school immediately. It must 
be in Our Church, for there was no other place in 



Our Church in Sandburg. 83 

town for it; but it was not to be sectarian, and 
must not be officered entirely by Methodists. This, 
'it was suggested, would circumscribe its influence, 
by making all classes of anti-Methodists suspicious. 
Here w^as a quandary, and to avoid danger on all 
sides, and give offense to nobody, it was decided to 
select a superintendent who was not a member of 
any Church. This was a premium on "outside" 
merit not often paid in religious enterprises, and a 
dread of sectarianism which was a sorry compli- 
mentj to Christian charity. However, the agent, 
who introduced the subject, was presumed to know 
more about the proprieties of the case than any one 
else ; so his advice was accepted, and a perfectly un- 
sectarian superintendent was chosen. Mr. Snow, 
the well-to-do moralist, was unanimously elected. 
For the purpose to be served in the election, this 
really appeared to be the very thing, and the only 
thing to be done; for Mr. Snow was, I reckon, as 
impartial a man in such matters as ever lived, inas- 
much as he cared nothing for any sect. His social 
status, attained by a growing estate and an honest 
life, would have made him desirable as a leader of 
any public enterprise; but for this one he was 
wholly lacking in literary qualifications. He could 
scarcely read intelligibly, perhaps did not read a 
page a year, and his spelling was privately laughed 
at when he had occasion to write a note or a receipt, 
or to draw off an account. He presented a bill 
against one of his neighbors for so many pounds of 
Psalt, and wrote to another about a new patent, 
which he called a "patteron rite." But this was a 
2* 



34 Our Church in Sandburg. 



small matter, compared with the danger of sectari- 
anism, and, therefore, nem. con., Mr. Snow was in- 
stalled superintendent. 

These novel honors did not fit him gracefully. 
How was he, who never prayed at home, to open 
Sunday-school with prayer? This duty, of course, 
he performed by proxy. Then the singing — we 
used a small and simple Union Hymn-book, and 
the common tunes of the day — the superintendent 
could not read well enough to announce a suitable 
hymn. In this case he always had help convenient, 
* for several of our young men were good singers, 
and cheerfully performed this part of the service. 
One of these young men was a teacher in the school, 
though not at the time a converted man, but he 
was so moral and orderly in his deportment that he 
was a general favorite in the community. He very 
often announced the hymn and led in singing, but 
would not venture to pray. I ought to add this 
about him, as he passes out of my field, that he 
soon after this professed religion, joined the Bap- 
tists, became a minister, and occupied no mean 
place in the Christian world for twenty-five years 
following. 

Our Sunday-school, singularly organized as it was, 
did much and permanent good. Its programme of 
exercises was very simple, consisting of recitals of 
portions of Scripture and hymns committed to 
memory during the preceding week, then the dis- 
tribution of tickets according to the number of 
verses recited. Each ticket had a money-value, and 
when enough was accumulated by a scholar, he 



Our Church in Sandburg. 35 

could purchase a reading-book furnished by the 
Union. This brief transaction accomplished, Sun- 
day-school was dismissed. For awhile the novelty 
of the thing, and the spirit of rivalry among the 
children, secured a large attendance and kept up an 
intense interest. It was an exceedingly flourishing 
school. 

The arrangements and operations detailed above 
are so widely different from those that prevail now- 
adays, that some may question whether any good 
came of a Sunday-school so organized. Good did 
come of it— good came of it in spite of its nonde- 
script constitution and its non-Christian head. And 
why not? The Bible was our chief text-book — our 
sole task was to commit to memory as much as we 
could, and many a youth then and there learned 
whole chapters of the Gospels, which he remembered 
and digested in after-life to the profit of his soul. 
The melancholy fate of certain boys who refused to 
attend, compared with the noble career of several 
who were diligent pupils, proves clearly that good 
did come of it. Objectors and opposers could not 
deny the happy results. There was a marked im- 
provement in the general tone of morals among the 
young people, and gainsayers grew more cautious 
in throwing their flippant jests at religion. 

It is due to the memory of our first superintend- 
ent to state his melancholy end. He did not long 
enjoy his uncoveted honors, being accidentally 
killed by a fall from the upper story of his flouring- 
mill. 

The circuit-preachers did not interfere with the 



36 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



arrangements specified above. They had on hand 
more than they could do. To meet the calls and 
demands of their large and growing field required 
constant labor and daily travel. Had those godly 
men lived and labored forty years later, they would 
have given no countenance to such a Sunday- 
school. The lights and experiences of this day 
would have shown them the far better plan of 
making the Sunday-school a part of Church-work — 
a work that no Church can neglect without detri- 
ment. The denomination that does not thus nour- 
ish and instruct its own children, so far from de- 
serving compliments for unsectarian liberality, is 
justly blamable for unfaithfulness. 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



37 



CHAPTER III. 

First year continued — Two valuable assistants— Keligion su- 
perior to sectarianism- — A striking incident— A remarkable 
friendship. 

FIDELITY to the^ truth of history demands a 
brief notice of certain collateral influences 
which, at the period now under review, were ex- 
erted in favor of religion. These were not in Our 
Church, but contributed largely to the cause of 
morals and the advancement of Christ's kingdom, 
of which it w'as the chief representative. The pre- 
cise line to which the influence of a Christian de- 
nomination extends, cannot be accurately drawn. 
Every such organized body casts, indeed, a marked 
and unmistakable shadow upon the moral land- 
scape; but at the border of this there is, as in nat- 
ural shadows, a penumbra, or undefinable extension, 
so that it is impossible to say precisely where the 
real shadow terminates. 

There were in the community at that time two 
acknowledged models of social and Christian char- 
acter — one a lady, the other a gentleman. They 
were both Baptists, and both very decided in their 
convictions on doctrinal questions and ecclesiastical 
polity, but both contributed largely, though unin- 
tentionally, to the progress of Our Church. 



38 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



The lady was the wife of the Hon. Mr. Mount, 
our free-thinking and free-living politician. He 
and she seemed as poorly mated as any man and 
wife could be, yet she loved him with a wild, ro- 
mantic devotion, and he treated her religious pro- 
fession with manly courtesy. She was delicate in 
person, beautiful in features, intelligent, gifted in 
conversation, and quietly elegant in manners. Her 
social status made her widely known, her personal 
endowments made her generally popular, her shin- 
ing virtues made her an object of veneration. Her 
gentle dignity subdued into sober propriety the 
wild propensities of her husband's boon compan- 
ions, and thus rendered the home, which otherwise 
would have been a frequent scene of high-life riot or 
genteel debauch, a delightful rendezvous for literary 
and religious visitors. The moral power of so ele- 
vated a character could not be confined to narrow 
sectarian limits. It extended far beyond the bound- 
aries of her own denomination, and contributed to 
the growth and ultimate success of one whose dis- 
tinctive forms she heartily disliked. It turned to 
religion the attention of a class of society with 
whom it was fashionable to treat the subject with 
levity, and thus disposed them, when they attended 
preaching at Our Church merely to see and meet 
the crowd on Sunday, to give the sermon a more 
candid and serious hearing. That several ladies of 
this class were afterward converted and brought 
into our fold, was manifestly due to this unintended 
influence. The good that one pious life accom- 
plishes can never be computed. The Christian is 



Our Church in Sandburg. 39 



far superior to the sect — pure religion overleaps tlie 
barriers of bigotry. 

The gentleman alluded to as a collateral though 
unintentional force in pushing forward Our Church, 
bore the simple name of John Johns. He was then 
about the noon of life, was rather stiff* and back- 
ward in company, shrinking from conspicuous posi- 
tion, and transparently free from guile. His literary 
attainments were much beyond the general stand- 
ard, for he owned a good library and read with dili- 
gence and discrimination. His opinion, therefore, 
was accepted as the decision of a high court in 
things pertaining to books, while his industrious 
self-culture continually enlarged his mental vision 
and warmed his charity for the opinions of others. 
* There was in his conversation a quiet vein of 
humor — a directness of expression — an occasional 
sparkle of chaste wit— that caused his company to 
be desired and courted by a large circle of friends. 
His counsel was sought on nearly all questions of 
private or public interest where complication ren- 
dered it difficult to reconcile conflicting views. In 
such cases he spoke with the meekness of a child, 
while others accepted his words as the decisions of 
an oracle. His piety was no less conspicuous than 
his fine social and civil qualities, for he was a man 
of prayer in private and in his family; and though 
never intrusive in conversation, yet always ready 
to give " a reason of the hope" that was in him. 

The moral influence wielded by Mr. J ohns will 
be best understood by one or two incidents in his 
life. He was once solicited to become a candidate 



40 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



for the legislature. This he declined, stating that 
he did not covet and could not seek the honor pro- 
posed. His friends, failing to get his consent, nom- 
inated him without it, only a few weeks before the 
election. He distanced all the candidates in the 
race. After one term, no inducements could pre- 
vail upon him to continue in public life; he stead- 
fastly adhered to his purpose to spend his days in 
the peaceful and quiet position of a private citizen. 

In those days Sandburg was head-quarters for the 
militia, and the company musters of the citizen 
soldiers were held there, if I recollect rightly, four 
times a year. At these company musters one or 
more candidates for popular favors were sure to be 
on hand with harangue, hand-shaking, and treat. 
After a brief parade, which consisted in a blunder- 
ing execution of unwarlike antics, supposed to be 
military evolutions, these native heroes would warm 
their patriotic blood with free potations of whisky, 
fresh from a neighboring still. Then would follow 
such scenes as drunken multitudes, with no impulse 
but heated passions, might be expected to present. 
To adjust differences, settle difficulties, and decide 
questions of manhood by personal rencounters were 
considered legitimate, if not obligatory. On one of 
these occasions the rabble had become unusually 
boisterous. Several fist-fights had occurred, and 
other parties were stripping for the fray. Officers 
of the law commanded the peace — a command 
which no one heeded. Mr. Johns, in passing, saw 
the sad state of affairs, and, turning briskly toward 
the surging crowd, walked into their midst and 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



41 



said, in an authoritative tone, "Tut! tut! tut!" 
The effect was iijstantaneous — it was electrical. 
The riotous mob scattered like chaff, some skulking 
sullenly off, others running precipitately away. So 
potent was this just man's presence, even among 
those who did not fear God, nor regard their own 
sort of men. That this fact is not alone in the his- 
tory of human phenomena will be readily admitted 
by the well-informed reader. His mind will recall 
that beautiful parallel in the ^Eneid of Virgil: Ac, 
veluti magno in populo cum saepe coorta est seditio, etc. 

This man, I said before, was not of our "faith 
and order." He heartily believed, and vigorously 
defended, his own denominational tenets. For 
Methodism, in doctrine and polity, he had no fel- 
lowship at all. Some of our doctrines were, in his 
opinion, dreadful heresies; some of our usages 
wholly destitute of scriptural authority. He dis- 
liked our closing doors at class-meeting; thought 
the mourners' bench, and altar exercises enthusiastic 
and injurious inventions; but, strange to tell, his 
most intimate friends and most constant associates 
were Methodists. His religious experience was too 
clear, his charity too strong, his judgment too can- 
did to permit the "pent-up TTtica" of his own 
Church to confine his Christian affections. One of 
his most devoted friends was our local preacher, 
Brother Givons. Their souls were knit together 
like the souls of David and Jonathan. They would 
often indulge in playful cuts at each other's pe- 
culiar doctrines, but far more frequently would they 
spend half the night together in talking of "the 



42 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



deep things of God." And so it was, that while 
this good man could not approve our doctrines and 
adopt our usages, he would not oppose our efforts 
to " spread scriptural holiness over the land," and 
became, unwittingly, a strong and valuable ally in 
the warfare we waged against wickedness — an out- 
post garrison in the territory we sought to re- 
conquer for our Lord. I cannot tell how many, 
moved by his pure example to consider their ways, 
were brought to Christ more directly, and into Our 
Church finally, by the aggressive labors of our min- 
istry. Several of his sons were, in after years, 
prominent and useful in our Zion. 

Trusting that this eddy in the current of my his- 
tory has given the reader a more satisfactory view 
of surrounding scenery, I now invite him to float 
onward with me down the current of events. 



Our Church in Sandburg. 43 



CHAPTER IV. 

Second year — Nondescript Sunday-school dissolved — The new 
preachers, Brothers Thomas and Ashton — Appearance, la- 
bors, advancement, and fate of Brother Ashton — Brother 
Thomas a solid man — Was he a great preacher ? — Obstacles 
and adversaries — Worldliness rebuked — A rival denomina- 
tion—Pastoral labor needed and supplied — Additions — An- 
noyances-—" Fool Billy " — • Sister Ruthie — Self-important 
brother "goes up" — A scandalous apostate — Church grows — ■ 
Grand quarterly meeting and love-feast. 

THE Sunday-school flourished vigorously for 
awhile, as before stated, but toward the close 
of summer the children lost interest in it, and as 
there was no one who felt it a duty to rally and 
inspire them, they dropped out, and the school was 
entirely deserted. ~No attempt was made to reor- 
ganize on the original basis. The old maxim, "In 
union is strength," proved to be a fallacy in this 
case, for the union element of this concern was the 
cause of its dissolution. 

In the meantime Conference had been held, and 
the day for preaching in Sandburg was drawing 
near. Expectation was w T ide awake: all were nerv- 
ously anxious to see, greet, and hear the new "cir- 
cuit-riders." Rev. Anthony Thomas was preacher 
in charge, and Brother James Ashton, a young licen- 
tiate, was helping preacher. Brother Ashton made 



44 Our Church in Sandburg. 



the first round on the circuit, and was duly in town 
on the day appointed. All the brethren were well 
satisfied with him. His appearance was prepossess- 
ing, his bearing and delivery unobjectionable; and 
if the matter of his sermons was not very profound, 
and the different parts of his discourse not very 
logically connected, they were seasoned with Scrip- 
ture phrases and spoken with evident unction. He 
was indeed a promising young preacher, altogether 
unexceptionable in deportment, very devout, and a 
laborious student; but yet he was not as useful as 
he might have been. He lacked consecration to the 
ministry as his life-work, would occasionally allude 
to the hardships and sacrifices of the itinerancy, 
saying it offered a poor prospect for a living, and 
when the time should come for him to support a 
wife, he would seek some other field in which to 
make that support. This opened the door to sus- 
picions that his motives were not as lofty and un- 
earthly as those which were supposed to move the 
Methodist preachers of the day. But he traveled 
through this year acceptably, if not fruitfully. I 
will anticipate a few years, and tell poor Ashton's 
brief story. He located at the end of this year — 
studied medicine — settled in a village about thirty 
miles from Sandburg, soon became a popular doctor, 
and married the wife he now felt able to support. 
Soon after his marriage he was thrown from his 
gig in the rocky streets of his village, became en- 
tangled in the wheel, was whirled several times vio- 
lently over, and was dead when friends rescued him 
from the dreadful situation. His funeral, they told 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



45 



me, was a thronged and mournful one, for he was 
beloved by his neighbors, as a Christian and as a 
physician. There was something in his fate that 
reminded me of the tragic affair related in the 
thirteenth chapter of the First Book of Kings. 
There were many who sighed over poor Ashton's 
grave, "Alas, my brother!" 

Brother Thomas, the senior preacher, was a man 
of different stamp. In age about thirty, in size 
over medium, muscular, and manly; in intellect 
above mediocrity, in scholarship excellent for that 
day; in the aggregate of his character, a noble 
specimen of a man and of a minister. He made 
no effort at display, was solid rather than showy, 
and, therefore, soon ranked high among the highest 
in point of mental ability; and those native Solo- 
mons, who had often asserted that Methodist 
preachers were an illiterate and unpolished class of 
men, were compelled to confess that they had met 
one exception to their rule. It is hardly necessary 
to add that Brother Thomas attracted attention, 
commanded the respect of the people, had the confi- 
dence and love of his flock, and drew large congre- 
gations at his appointments. 

Some considered Brother Thomas a great preacher. 
I do not fully indorse this opinion, unless we accept 
a definition of great preaching slightly different 
from the one usually given. His sermons were 
simple in plan, plain in language, full and satisfac- 
tory in illustration, powerful and convincing in ar- 
gument. His manner was wholly unstudied, and 
so natural that some objected to the absence of 



46 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



effort. His discourses were so far doctrinal as to 
define and fortify the distinctive faith of Our 
Church, and so far practical as to convince all tardy 
professors that "faith without works is dead." His 
appeals to sinners were earnest, forcible, loving, 
persuasive. There was a mingling of the logical 
and the emotional in his preaching that furnished 
pabulum for thought, while it warmed and stirred 
the heart. There was much talk about the man 
and his labors. He made religion conspicuous, and 
silenced many a senseless objection to Methodism. 
If he was not a great preacher, he accomplished 
a great work. 

Leaving our minister to pursue his course of 
evangelical toil, let us turn again to survey the field 
which he had to cultivate. The ground was by no 
means free from thorns and thistles. It did not 
promise a rich harvest without painful and patient 
labor. Some few of his members, mistaking the 
pastor's dignified manner for a show of conscious 
superiority, spoke enviously against him as arro- 
gant and self-important, and thus marred his influ- 
ence for awhile. This difficulty, however, was 
limited : very few sympathized with the sentiment, 
and those who indulged the unworthy thought were 
afterward ashamed of their folly. 

There were two other sources of opposition much 
more formidable. The worldly, pleasure-loving cit- 
izens, who had never before felt themselves so forci- 
bly rebuked by the pulpit, began to regard Brother 
Thomas as a rival in the realm of reason, where 
their supremacy had been acknowledged. They 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



47 



saw their sphere of power contracting in extent 
and failing in tributes of honor paid to superior 
wisdom. They did not abandon the field without a 
show of bravery ; but as the preacher waxed bold 
in proclaiming God's truth and denouncing his 
wrath against all ungodliness, these vanquished 
braves found nothing so suitable as a sullen retire- 
ment from open contest. They continued, however, 
to send their shafts of spite from secret places, and 
to seek all private means to enlist the young under 
their banner. In this they so far succeeded that too 
many withstood the entreaties of the gospel, and 
grew more reckless in sin. 

The other source of opposition was a rival de- 
nomination; yes — I write it with a sense of shame 
—a rival denomination. Their preachers, with 
very few exceptions, exerted themselves more zeal- 
ously to forestall the Methodists than to cast out 
devils. They indulged in ill-natured taunts at 
" baby-sprinkling," "falling from grace/' and 
"straw-pen religion," till the more ignorant of 
their hearers were convinced that Methodist preach- 
ers were "wolves in sheep's clothing," or hireling 
shepherds, who labored for the fleece, but cared not 
for the flock. There is no force stronger than prej- 
udice — no prejudice so implacable as that which is 
born of ignorance. Some of their members, how- 
ever, were of a better spirit, and many of their 
hearers — such as could discern between ribaldry and 
reasoning — were disgusted and driven away. But 
the cause of Christ suffered a degree of damage, as 
is always the case when his professed ministers do 



48 Our Church in Sandburg. 



not exhibit the spirit of their Master; and "if it 
had not been the Lord who was on our side," I 
know not what defeats we might have suffered at 
the hands of these defiant Goliaths. However, "by 
God's good hand upon us," we occupied a position 
from which no foe could expel us, and within whose 
strong intrenchments Our Church calmly watched 
the impotent efforts of its assailants. 

Since last year's gracious revival had added so 
many young and inexperienced members to our 
little band, we more than ever needed the watch- 
care of a pastor. We needed a shepherd with a 
loving heart and an enlightened mind to go before 
us and guide us into good and healthful pastures. 
This need was partially supplied by Brother Thomas, 
who made Sandburg his home, and spent all the time 
he could spare from other portions of the circuit in 
nourishing and building up the growing charge in 
town. The flock profited greatly by this attention, 
was more consolidated than ever before, and grew 
into a fuller understanding and a higher apprecia- 
tion of religious duty. Certain spurious elements, 
which had formed a sort of fungus upon the body, 
were severed from it by the knife of skillful disci- 
pline, while the ordinances of religion, and the con- 
ventional means of grace, were more regularly and 
systematically enjoyed. We were farther encour- 
aged by the addition of several valuable families 
who, moving to town, brought letters of commen- 
dation and sought fellowship with us. 

I must mention a few of the internal difficulties 
that troubled us about this time. They were more 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



49 



annoying than formidable. There was one very 
noisy, officious brother, who entertained a much 
higher opinion of himself than any other person 
did of him. He was profound in, only one thing, 
and that was his ignorance. This brother — Billy 
Jones — was a great" talker, considered no subject 
fully discussed till he had given his opinion, and 
when he thought he was producing the deepest con- 
viction his neighbors were most amused at his non- 
sense. In fact, he was known in the community as 
" Fool Billy." Well, it was noised abroad that Billy 
Jones professed to be called to preach. He pre- 
sented his application to the Church for recom- 
mendation. This the brethren took into respectful 
consideration so far only as to authorize him to ex- 
hort, which answered his purpose for awhile. Some 
weeks after this he got into a street-wrangle with a 
Baptist about infant baptism. The Baptist man, 
of course, demanded a positive declaration of Scrip- 
ture. "I can produce it," said Billy, with an air of 
triumph: "the Bible says that the jailer and all his 
straightway were baptized, and what was his straight- 
way but his children ? " So egregious a blunder 
brought Brother Billy's pretensions into universal 
contempt, and quite ruined his prospects for promo- 
tion. His exhorter's license was taken away — he 
quit us in disgust, and forthwith joined the Baptists. 
What comfort he found among them, or what profit 
they derived from him, comes not within the limits 
of my story. His departure was, to us, riddance 
from a plague. 

Another annoyance was a maiden lady, a curious 
3 



50 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



compound of singularities, who indulged a high 
opinion of her singing talents, and would fill up 
spare times at meetings with a song of her own 
choosing. This she sang solo, with her own inimi- 
table intonation and emphasis. It was indeed a 
murderous assault upon the gamut — and tones the 
gamut never knew were thrust iirto it, accompanied 
with contortions of countenance and gyrations of 
body painful to behold. But old Sister Ruthie was 
a good, innocent, and unoffending creature in other 
respects, and withal she was poverty-stricken and 
deformed, and extremely sensitive to slights and in- 
sults. So there was no remedy but to let her sing : 
it did her so much good that others endured the 
torture for her sake. And as no one would wound 
the forlorn creature by asking her to desist, and as 
she had too much confidence in her talent to dream 
that her singing was not the best part of the exer- 
cises, it came to be tacitly admitted and endured as 
an unavoidable evil. 

Far more troublesome than good Sister Ruthie's 
song was the forwardness of Brother Lewis Ven- 
ners. He " loved to have the preeminence," was 
impatient of restraint, " heady and high-minded." 
He verily thought he could preach, claimed to 
know that he ought to preach, and took prelim- 
inary steps, with characteristic vehemence, to ob- 
tain authority. But as his " gifts " were not ap- 
parent, and his " grace" still less manifest, his 
application was unsuccessful. He quit us in great 
wrath, joined a sect just then coming in vogue 
under the name of New Lights, and became a vio- 



Our Church in Sandburg. 51 



lent adversary of Methodism. His case is fitly de- 
scribed by St. John : " They went out from us, but 
they were not of us." 

The severest blow Our Church received in the 
days of its formative period fell upon it this year in 
a case of scandalous apostasy. Brother A. "W., 
whose disgraced name I will not write in full, was 
a man in good circumstances and in good standing. 
He was assistant class-leader, was efficient and use- 
ful in the Church, and was reputable and respected 
in the whole community. But what was the amaze- 
ment of his friends when he suddenly abandoned all 
claims to religion, and became openly profane and 
a shameless drunkard ! His downward career was 
rapid — no efforts to reclaim him availed — he soon 
rested in a drunkard's grave. Before his death, he 
deplored his melancholy fall, lamented the disgrace 
he had brought upon the cause of Christ, but made 
no appeals for mercy to his God. He stated that 
he first resorted to the bottle for strength to bear 
his domestic troubles ; that his wife reviled his re- 
ligion, mocked his claims to piety, made an uproar 
when he attempted family prayer, and treated him 
with so many indignities that he drank to drown 
his mental anguish. This unnatural woman was a 
member of another denomination, and often de- 
clared that she would rather see her husband a 
drunkard than a Methodist. The thing she pre- 
ferred was obtained through her unwomanly en- 
deavors: she scattered evil seed, and gathered a 
harvest of death. 

In spite of all these hindrances, Our Church grew 



52 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



in numbers, in strength, in favor with the people, 
and in grace, under the faithful government of 
Brother Thomas* "They that hold on their way 
shall be stronger and stronger." There were more 
for us than against us. 

The quarterly meeting, held in Sandburg this 
year, was a rich and memorable blessing. The Pre- 
siding Elder, Brother Peters, was "a mighty man 
of valor." Physically, he was a large man, and had 
a powerful and pleasant voice; intellectually, he 
was larger still, and his big brain was well culti- 
vated; but his spirituality surpassed all his other 
qualities, for his power was in the Holy Ghost. He 
was grand on the cardinal doctrines of religion — 
the plan of salvation, repentance, faith, regenera- 
tion, and holiness. These were his favorite themes, 
and he handled them with a masterly skill, so as 
mightily to " convince the gainsayers." His visita- 
tion to Sandburg this year was attended with valua- 
ble results in the more complete vindication of our 
doctrines — thus "putting to silence the ignorance 
of foolish men." 

The love-feast on this occasion was a joyous time. 
T must not trust my memory to recall even an out- 
line of the thrilling talks that gave interest and 
power to the meeting. The aged spoke of years 
of trial and years of peace, of their growth in 
grace in spite of the troubles and temptations inci- 
dent to this sinful world, and humbly ascribed the 
glory of their victories to the presence and power 
of all-conquering grace. The young spoke timidly, 
but with grateful tears, of their espousals to Christ, 



Our Church in Sandburg. 53 



and told how lie had taken away their sins, and 
given them joy for heaviness. . One short speech 
produced a deep impression. A young man, noted 
for his self-reliance in temporal things, but 91 a 
very different spirit in regard to his religious pro- 
fession, rose, and for awhile tried in vain to give 
utterance to his feelings. After a brief delay, he 
spoke with a faltering voice, but with peculiar em- 
phasis, simply repeating the stanza : 

Once a sinner, near despair, 
Sought the mercy-seat by prayer; 
Mercy heard, and set him free : 
Lord, that mercy came to me. 

I have often thought that this trembling youth 
embodied in his short love-feast talk a richer com- 
bination of theology and experience than can be 
found elsewhere in the same number of words. 

The effects of this quarterly meeting were mani- 
fest : Our Church had evidently taken a step for- 
ward, refreshed and renewed in spiritual strength 
and aggressive power. 



54 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



CHAPTER Y. 

Second year continued — Growth of Sandburg — Increase of 
Our Church — A caveat — Eiches to be consecrated — Marriage 
of the preacher — A wolf in the fold — Sunday-school re- 
opened — A camp-meeting — Glorious results. 

THE history of a Church, is inseparable from 
that of its location. A waning town seldom 
has a growing Church; a prosperous town should 
never have a waning Church. The former would 
he an anomaly; the latter, a disgrace to Christianity. 

At this period of our narrative, Sandburg was 
rapidly growing in population and in commercial 
importance. The rich natural resources of the sur- 
rounding country were developing, and nearly all 
branches of business were yielding a handsome re- 
muneration. Capital, following the laws of polit- 
ical economy, sought investment where it was 
promised the largest returns; and thus several fam- 
ilies were added to our citizenship, bringing their 
intellectual and social, as well as their commercial 
wealth, to augment the common prosperity. Among 
these were the Strongs, who moved into town for 
school and social advantages; and Mr. Gliddon, a 
merchant of large means and fine business capacity. 
Three of old 'Squire Strong's daughters united 
with Our Church, and added no little to our strength 



Our Church in Sandburg. 55 



in young-lady members. Dr. Browman's daughters 
joined us about the same time. The sons of both 
these families were, unfortunately, wild and reck- 
less; and, following the leadership of Mr. Dexter, 
the witty young lawyer, they did much to check the 
progress of religion, by making ungodly amuse- 
ments respectable. 

In the family of Mr. Gliddon Our Church gained a 
treasure. At what date, or through what special in- 
strumentality, the old gentleman, his wife, a widowed 
daughter, and his son Jacob, were converted from 
their previous worldliness to a happy Christian life, 
I do not now remember. They joined us about the 
middle of this year, and immediately took the posi- 
tion of zealous Christians and ardent Methodists. 
Jacob, then in the prime of young manhood, was 
afterward appointed class-leader — an office which 
he held and adorned for many years. His good 
practical sense gave him a front position in society; 
his sterling virtues rendered him conspicuous as a 
Christian. 

Let me here enter a caveat against an inference 
that may be captiously drawn, that Our Church ex- 
ulted in these acquisitions on the score of their pe- 
cuniary and social importance. Such was not the 
case. We were willing to rest our claims to genu- 
ine Churchship upon the test, " The poor have the 
gospel preached unto them." "We were not desti- 
tute of this mark — we had not failed to secure 
abundant proof of our Lord's gracious approval in 
this class of witnesses. We had seen our calling, 
"that not many mighty men, after the flesh, not 



56 Our Church in Sandburg. 



many noble, are called;" but when a Joseph of 
Arimatliea came with his wealth to confess and 
honor our Saviour, were we to reject his offer and 
decline his fellowship? No, no! Be it far from 
the disciples of Christ to undervalue the piety of 
the poor, for " God hath chosen them, rich in faith 
and heirs of the kingdom;" but let the Church, 
wherever it can, baptize the intelligence and wealth 
of the land, and sanctify them to the Master's ser- 
vice, for no clas& of believers have been more 
honored than these in revealing, defending, and 
propagating the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

In those days, the marriage of a Methodist 
preacher was an occurrence almost as notable as 
a transit of Venus. Hence there was " no small stir 
among the people" when it was rumored that 
Brother Thomas was about to wed the daughter of 
Brother Gliddon. She was rich, beautiful, and ac- 
complished; a young widow, with the world all 
before her, and suitors in abundance from whom 
to choose whenever she saw proper to decide. This 
rumor, therefore, was a fruitful theme of gossip, 
till its consummation put an end to conjecture. 
Some suggested that it was a bad step for the 
preacher; that he would be prouder than ever; that 
he would abandon the traveling ministry; that he 
would have too much property to manage, and 
could not afford to travel. Others hinted that it 
was a great condescension in the lady, wealthy and 
accomplished as she was, to marry a poor Method- 
ist preacher: they were surprised at her; they were 
astonished that she should thus throw herself away. 



Our Church in Sandburg. 5T 



However, her parents and brother heartily ap 
proved of the match; they esteemed Brother 
Thomas as one of the purest and truest men of 
the country; and she had strength of character to 
make her own choice, and follow her own counsel. 
As to Brother Thomas — a model gentleman him- 
self, and as well connected in family relationships 
as any of her other suitors, or as any who pre- 
sumed to discuss his merits — he was wholly beyond 
objection as a match for the lady, except on the 
score of his calling, and this, in her estimation, was 
one of his chief attractions ; for she was, heart 
and soul, a Methodist, and asked no higher position 
than a place by the side of a devout and zealous 
itinerant. 

A long, prosperous, and honored life was granted 
them. Their labors enter largely into the history 
of other fields. I cannot follow their career, full 
of interest though it is, beyond the sphere whose" 
annals their acquaintance, affection, and marriage 
adorn with one of its most pleasing paragraphs. 

I turn with reluctance from this scene of virtuous 
happiness to trace another of far different color — 
one that cast a shadow of life-long sorrow upon a 
too credulous heart. There appeared in Sandburg 
about this time a fine-looking young man, who in- 
troduced himself as the Eev. Mr. Miller, a local 
preacher and a professional teacher. His papers 
seemed to be genuine, his address was plausible 
and winning, and his scholarship was evidently ex- 
cellent. The community needed a good teacher 
just then, so Miller opened a select school, with 
3* 



58 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



very flattering patronage, was cordially admitted 
to the fellowship of the Church, and received in the 
best society. He was always willing and ready to 
preach, was a fluent talker, and soon gained consid- 
erable reputation. In a short time he began to pay 
marked attention to Miss Kate, daughter of Dr. 
Browman, and was not slow in winning her confi- 
dence and contracting a marriage engagement. 
Her friends expostulated, and counseled delay, re- 
minding her that while appearances were all in his 
favor, enough was not known about the man to 
warrant so grave a step. It was all in vain— neither 
parental wishes nor friendly counsels were heeded — 
she was infatuated with her eloquent and accom- 
plished lover, named an early day, and the marriage 
was duly solemnized. Their course of wedded life 
ran smoothly for a month or two, when rumor be- 
gan to whisper that something was wrong about 
Miller. He ascertained that a newspaper, contain- 
ing the offer of a large reward for a fugitive coun- 
terfeiter, had been sent to Sandburg from a New 
England State, and that the description threw sus- 
picion upon him. Upon this, he suddenly disap- 
peared, leaving his young and deluded wife to weep 
over her precipitation and her disgrace. It soon 
transpired, to the intense mortification of all who 
had accepted him as an honest man and a minister, 
that he was a veritable " wolf in sheep's clothing," 
an accomplished swindler. The Church could do 
nothing but denounce him, remind the people of 
the traitor Judas, and quote St. Paul's apology for 
similar impostors: That if Satan transforms him- 



Our Church in Sandburg. 59 



self into an angel of light, it is no marvel that his 
ministers should transform themselves into minis- 
ters of Christ. 

During this year our Sunday-school was reopened 
under far more hopeful auspices. We had a com- 
petent and punctual supply of teachers, a superin- 
tendent who knew how to pray and give religious 
instruction, and the hearty sympathy of the entire 
membership. It was now our school, and those who 
dreaded sectarian influence could easily keep out 
of its way. But this former source of trouble ap- 
peared to have vanished; for many children and 
young people from families not connected with our 
communion, eagerly accepted the general invitation 
to attend, and thus enlarged the circle of our influ- 
ence in the town. 

Toward the close of summer, our people took 
part in a new camp-meeting enterprise. The 
ground was judiciously chosen — a few miles from 
town — a large brush-arbor was erected, camping 
arrangements — mostly cloth-covered tents — pro- 
vided, the day was set, and the meeting began. 
We had but a few preachers, but they preached 
with power, the brethren worked faithfully, God 
blessed the labors of his servants, and many were 
converted. This meeting was not at first attended 
with those wonderful displays of divine power 
which frequently signalized similar occasions; but 
there seemed to be a melting, subduing spirit abroad 
among the people, that softened hard hearts, and 
caused stiff necks to bow low in the altar of prayer. 
Even Lawyer Dexter' s gayety forsook him, and he 



60 Our Church in Sandburg. 



and his merry companions withdrew from the 
ground. In sight of the camp-ground lived old 
Mother Doland, an aged widow whose children 
and grandchildren, a numerous progeny, were set- 
tied around her. She was not a Methodist, but was 
a woman of faith and prayer, had formerly belonged 
to the Seceders, but now had no Church connection. 
A request was brought from her that one of the 
preachers should go to the house and preach to her, 
as she was too infirm to come out. The request 
was granted, and she gathered her children and 
grandchildren into her room to join in the devo- 
tions. "While the preacher was talking, the Holy 
Spirit descended upon the little congregation, the 
old lady rejoiced aloud, and one of her grandsons, 
a man of the world, noted for his reckless irrever- 
ence, fell upon the floor, and was then and there 
converted. This had a powerful effect upon the 
issues of the camp-meeting, for the new convert 
was a popular man, had been sheriff, and was then 
clerk of the county court. The whole family con- 
nection was aroused. Nearly all the older ones had 
formerly belonged to the denomination named 
above, but since moving to this region had held 
themselves aloof from all. Monday night, when 
the preacher opened the door for members, old 
'Squire Lock, a son-in-law of Mrs. Doland's, and 
regarded as the patriarch of the family, came for- 
ward and gave his hand to the preacher. This lev- 
eled the last barrier, and the rest came flocking 
into our fold. 0 that was a joyous night, when 
so many, "whose hearts the Lord opened," came 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



61 



mustering under the banner of Christ ! A shout 
of victory went up from our Zion — we made that 
grove glorious with songs of praise. The huge 
pine-fires that illuminated the encampment were 
kept burning all night, and the voices of penitent 
prayer, of new-born joy, and of exultant thanks- 
giving, floated upon the air till the hour of morning 
devotion. 

Thus closes the second year of this history, with 
" peace upon Israel." 



62 



Our Church in t Sandburg. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Third year — The anxious question — Brothers Snell and Hurt 
— Brother Snell' s levity — Does no good; is ignorant, fussy, 
and sinks to obscurity — Brother Hurt a better man — He is 
popular— A study — Brother Gliddon's wise counsel — A no- 
ble rally — Two remarkable conversions — We want a sta- 
tioned preacher — Presiding Elder promises assistance. 

"TTTTEEiSi" the preachers left us to go to Confer- 
▼ V ence, the brethren awaited the coming of 
their successors with more than ordinary solicitude. 
Having been so blessed in their ministers during 
the term just closed — having so frequently and so 
rationally rejoiced in their godly labors — they re- 
garded the problem of next year's appointments as 
one of far more than usual concern. "What will 
Conference do for us?" was a frequent question 
among them. " Can it send us two men who will 
profit by the advantages thus far gained, take up 
the work where Brothers Thomas and Ashton left it, 
and carry it forward to still larger results?" Time 
answered these questions as to the men, and a 
longer time answered them as to their suitableness 
for the work. The announcement read: "Sand- 
burg Circuit, Allman Snell, J ohn Hurt." 

To give a faithful record of the year's operations, 
I must take the measure of the new preachers, stat- 



Our Church in Sandburg. 63 



ing, as accurately as possible, their physical, mental, 
and moral dimensions ; for, allowing for modifying 
considerations, that saying of the Prophet Hosea is 
a universal principle, "Like people, like priest." 

The priest a wanderer from the narrow way ; 
The silly sheep, no wonder that they stray. 

Brother Snell was a man of less than medium 
height, rather chunky, about forty-five years old, 
and of only moderate natural intellect. He had 
not long been a member of Conference, but had 
exercised his gifts in the local ranks for several 
years, in a region of country where a high order of 
talent was not requisite to reputation. Hence he 
had come into the traveling connection with fine 
promise of usefulness. But he entered too late in 
life to profit by the prescribed course of study, and 
having been a laboring man while local, he had 
acquired but a limited stock of theological knowl- 
edge. He boasted that he never read any book 
but the Bible: it soon became evident that he 
had not read that very carefully. I heard him say, 
with tremendous emphasis, in a sermon on repent- 
ance, " The sorry of the world worketh death, but 
godly sorry worketh repentance unto life." He was 
fond of alluding to the Childiirn of Isarul, and had 
much to say about the raising of Lazaruth from the 
dead. It was horrible ! 

Brother Snell's besetting sin was mirth. He 
Loved company so well that he was not sufficiently 
choice in selecting his companions. Under a false 
apprehension of the Master's example, "eating with 



64 



Our Church m Sandburg. 



publicans and sinners," lie would laugh and jest 
with the ungodly, and even tell anecdotes of re- 
ligious extravagance, and turn the grace of God 
into profane amusement. In this social talent he 
had few peers, for he could act as well as repeat; 
and hence his company was sought by the young 
and gay more for fun than for religious profit. 
When the latter was expected, disappointment fol- 
lowed; when the former, it was sure to be found. 

In the pulpit, Snell assumed another role — was 
grave, serious, and seemingly in deep earnest. 
With wonderful fluency, a pleasant voice, and 
rather vehement gesticulation; with a rich fund 
of anecdotes, authoritative thumps on the book- 
board, and hearty threats of " hell and damnation," 
he decidedly impressed the masses, and on some 
portions of the circuit was regarded as an Apollos 
in eloquence, and a Paul in wisdom. In Sandburg, 
he was out of his element. His unpolished, almost 
rude manners; his foolish levity, often verging upon 
the borders of obscenity, mortified his brethren, 
and disgusted intelligent sinners. Ashamed of 
their minister! That is a dreadful thing to say. 
Alas, for the Church that must confess it! But 
what could we do ? Why, simply endure his dis- 
tasteful peculiarities, palliate them as best we could, 
say as little about him as possible, and — wait for a 
better day. 

I knew a horse-trader, who, when hard-pressed 
by objections to the head, neck, and limbs of his 
animal which he could not deny, deliberately lifted 
the horse's foot, and said, with a tone of triumph, 



Our Church m Sandburg. 65 



"You never saw a finer frog in a horse's hoof in 
your life!" Was there not as large a redeeming 
feature in the character of Brother Snell? Well, 
he did have one good talent — he sang well, he sang 
delightfully. At the close of some of his soul- 
thrilling songs, when everybody was moved and 
melted, some, may be, to tears, we would almost 
forget his rudeness and forgive his follies — but not 
quite. 

I will anticipate dates, and dispose of Brother 
S n ell's personal history. He went down rapidly in 
the Conference. I am not sure but this was his last 
year in it. He was gravely suspected of a worse 
sin than levity, and was summarily laid aside. 'Let 
us hope that he improved, at least in purity of heart 
and mind, before he died, if he is dead. I never 
heard his destiny after his ejection from the Con- 
ference. He surely merited the oblivion to which 
he sank. 

Brother John Hurt, our junior preacher, was a 
man of far different style. He was barely twenty 
years old, small, ruddy, and fresh with the glow of 
youth. Sweet-spirited, unpresuming, diligent in 
reading, ardent and chaste in thought and speech, 
poetical in conception and expression, he soon won 
the hearts of many, and excited the admiration of 
others. His mind seemed to yearn after knowledge, 
and his soul was so eager after fellowship with 
whatever was pure and lofty, that nothing but the 
stern calls of duty could draw him down to earth. 
The young people loved him, and listened to his 
poetical creations with admiring delight. The old 



66 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



sisters petted hira, for lie called thero. "mother," 
and talked to them about "the gorgeous glories of 
the better land." The old men said, "He is a smart 
boy — time will rub the flowers off — he will make 
a big man some day, if he holds out." 

Brother Hurt had two faults, as a preacher. One 
was, he spoke so rapidly that the people could not 
always understand him ; the other, that his language 
was so flowery as to hide the real thought. Thought 
there was — good, pure thought — in his sentences; 
but sometimes the body was concealed by super- 
fluous ornament. The brethren, knowing his nu- 
merous and brilliant virtues, readily pardoned these 
faults ; for, when they did not catch his meaning 
fully, they felt sure that his meaning was a good 
one, and they would sometimes ask him in private 
for an explanation of his sermon in simpler lan- 
guage. 

A question, growing out of the peculiar elocution 
of the young preacher, was mooted among the more 
thoughtful brethren. It was asked, Is it better for 
a beginner to speak too rapidly, trusting to expe- 
rience to correct his delivery ; or is it better that he 
speak too slowly, intending by practice to rise to 
the proper standard? This question was warmly 
discussed, but not satisfactorily decided. One side 
predicted that Hurt would never overcome this de- 
fect, and that it would hinder his usefulness ; the 
other were equally sanguine that he would out- 
grow this little infirmity, and be one of the first 
orators of the age. It is, perhaps, true, that those 
who commence public speaking with too rapid an 



Our Church m Sandburg. 67 
• 

utterance, are liable to fasten the habit upon them- 
selves; for, being ever intent on the thought — ■ 
especially if extemporaneous speakers — they forget 
to curb their natural enunciation; while such as be- 
gin with a drawling delivery seldom overcome the 
fault, unless they learn to think more rapidly. For, 
is not this really a question of thinking, rather than 
one of speaking? A young man whose thoughts 
crowd up in quick succession will naturally try to 
express them as they come ; while one whose ideas 
evolve more slowly, must needs speak only as the 
tardy thought enables him. The maxim I would 
deduce from this discussion is this : Regulate your 
thinking, and your delivery will regulate itself. If 
you speak the thought as soon as it occurs, you may 
perhaps utter something that should be suppressed, 
and you lose the mental poise which holds a nascent 
thought in abeyance till the mind can pass judg- 
ment on its fitness ; while if you deliberate too long 
over a half-formed conception, your mind loses both 
promptness and clearness of action, and you drawl 
out nerveless and pointless sentences. 

Thus while our senior preacher was displeasing 
to the best portion of his charge, and only approved 
by those whose brains were as shallow as his own, 
our junior preacher was accepted as a rising star, 
and became a study for Christian philosophers. I 
dare not say more about his after career, for he yet 
lives and labors, an old man in years, but young in 
reputation and usefulness. 

^ Having sketched the captain and mate of the 
" old ship," as she was about to sail on a twelve- 



68 Our Church in Sandburg. 



months' cruise, we may now glance at the crew and 
passengers, and relate the incidents of the voyage 

The reader will not be surprised at the mention 
of disaffection and complaints. A mistake had 
been made by the appointing power. The Presid- 
ing Elder discovered it on his first visit to our 
circuit, but not having a man under his control 
who could be substituted for this wrong man in the 
wrong place, he could do nothing to rectify the 
mistake. It was as painful to him as to us, but 
regrets being fruitless the wise conclusion was 
reached by him and the officials of the circuit, to 
make the best of the appointment till the close of 
the year. It could then be changed for the better — 
not possibly for the worse. This consoling reflec- 
tion made the itinerant system more acceptable 
to some who complained of its rigor last fall, when 
we had to give up our popular and useful preacher. 
Then it took from us our most beloved pastorl now 
it will deliver us from an incubus. 

Our Church held together and struggled bravely 
against the adverse current, but could not wholly 
countervail its force. The congregation decreased, 
except on Brother Hurt's Sundays, and the Sunday- 
school suffered through the general decadence of 
Church interest. Several of the young members 
grew cold, began to drop off from class-meeting, 
and finally went back to the world. Infidelity came 
forth from its retreat, and boldly showed its hideous 
visage again. Lawyer Dexter sang camp-meeting 
songs in derision, while his merry companions 
laughed and applauded. The adverse party of re- 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



69 



ligionists exulted and said, "I told yon so: this 
mushroom religion soon comes to nothing." Brother 
Hurt bore himself meekly and firmly, but was with 
us only once a month, and could not accomplish 
much. Old Brother Carsner was too infirm to be 
very active in affairs, but he gave valuable and 
weighty counsels, exhorting to steadfastness and 
patience, Jacob Gliddon, the young class-leader, 
rose above the discouragements of the times, and 
set a noble example. He said to some complainers, 
" The Church must be sustained — the popularity or 
unpopularity of the preacher should neither stimu- 
late nor depress the zeal of the membership. It is 
not man's cause, but God's, and we must work as ser- 
vants of Christ, and.not of the preacher." Noble 
sentiment of a noble man ! By such wise speech 
and manly action he gained greater influence in the 
Church, and grew stronger in the confidence of the 
community. But time would fail me to tell the 
several parts acted by different members— noble 
men, godly women — who, in this hour of darkness, 
drew nearer together in fellowship, and showed a 
devotion to the cause of Christ worthy the Chris- 
tian name. 

Although the membership was in a partially dor- 
mant state, and very little visible good was done, 
yet the year was not wholly without fruit. Two 
remarkable conversions occurred, brought about by 
private instrumentalities, which proved to be a most 
valuable acquisition. The first of these was as 
follows: Young Mr. Johns, a son of the pious Bap- 
tist, before mentioned, was one day in the woods, 



70 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



hunting. A limb knocked his hat off, and a scrap 
of paper, which he did not know was in it, dropped 
out. Taking up the paper, and, seeing that it con- 
tained a written sentence, he read the verse of Scrip- 
ture, " Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if 
any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will 
come in to him, and will sup with him, and he 
with me/ 5 The handwriting was strange — he had 
no conception of its source. This unexpected call 
in the solitude of the forest went home to his heart, 
and roused within him the deepest penitence. He 
was from that time an earnest seeker until he found 
peace in believing. There was no stir in the Church 
— his feelings and pufpose were known only to Him 
"who seeth in secret." When he felt assured of his 
acceptance with God, he hastened to relate his happy 
experience to an older sister, a pious member of 
their father's Church. She heard his story, and 
then with grateful tears informed him that she 
wrote the text on the slip of paper, some weeks be- 
fore, and hid it under his hat-lining, praying as she 
did so that it might meet his eye in private, and be 
the means of his conversion. At the time she did 
this, Johns was a gay young man, respectful, indeed, 
to religion, but bestowing no thought and showing 
no interest on the subject. 4 Greatly to the surprise 
of all who knew him, the young man joined Our 
Church, and was, to the end of his life, one of the 
truest and purest men I ever knew. 

The second conversion was another member of the 
same family, an older brother, married, and settled 
in town. He had grown up moral, had never been 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



71 



classed with the wild youths of Sandburg, had fine 
business talent, and a popular turn, and was, at the 
date of his conversion, the sheriff of the county. 
His young wife was a pious woman, and a Method- 
ist, and doubtless her example and prayers were 
made a blessing to him. Soon after the younger 
brother's happy change, this man became deeply 
concerned about his soul: like David, he " remem- 
bered God, and was troubled." He resolved to seek 
religion privately — was particular to make this con- 
dition with himself, that no one should know his 
purpose till it was accomplished. He had imbibed 
his father's prejudices against excitement, altar ex- 
ercises, and all similar aids ; he had heard so much 
about " fox-fire " and " mushroom religion" that he 
shrank from subjecting himself to these degrading 
imputations. After several weeks of ineffectual effort 
to obtain relief, he approached a Methodist friend, 
and candidly described to him his sad condition. 
The Methodist asked, " Why do n't you go up to be 
prayed for?" Johns replied, "I dislike that way; 
it is both a cause and an effect of animal excite- 
ment, and I am sure it would do me no good." 
"You are letting pride and prejudice keep you 
away from Christ," said his friend. "You must 
quit prescribing terms and conditions to the Lord, 
and consent to meet him anywhere, publicly or 
privately, before your prayers will be answered." 
Mr. Johns, now deeply in earnest, responded, "I am 
willing to embrace Christ on his own terms — I 
have no conditions to interpose — I will tread 
down my prejudices, and go to the mourners' 



72 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



bench the first opportunity you will secure for me." 
This promise he kept. Not long after this con- 
versation — perhaps the next Sunday night — the 
preacher invited mourners, and Mr. Johns went 
forward to be prayed for. But it seemed to do him 
no good. He applied again to his Methodist friend 
for advice. " Join the Church as a seeker," was the 
advice given. Johns had freely spoken in former 
conversations of his growing admiration for Meth- 
odism as the most vital and efficient form of relig- 
ion; but, to the objection before stated, on the score 
of animal excitement, he urged one still more for- 
midable: "They take sinners into the Church." 
The blunt and positive assertion, " You must join 
the Church as a seeker," horrified him. "How 
could I dare!" said he; "what business have I in 
the Church ? The Church is for good people, and 
I am not good ; the Church is for Christians, and I 
am a sinner." His friend, taking up a Discipline, 
read to him, " There is only one condition previously 
required of those who desire admission into these 
societies — a desire to flee from the wrath to come, 
and to be saved from their sins." Silence ensued 
for several minutes, when J ohns spoke slowly and 
seriously: "If that is the condition, I can meet it; 
for I do desire to be 'saved from my sins." Next 
Sunday he went forward, when the door was opened 
for members, and gave his hand to the preacher. 
There was a general and hearty Amen from the 
brethren, when the preacher "hoped they would 
pray for Brother Johns, that he might very soon 
obtain joy and peace in believing." Having gone 



Our Church in Sandburg. 73 



thus far, J olms resolved to take up every cross, and 
seek in every way, till he obtained the blessing. 
That night he held family prayers — in a faltering, 
blundering way, but in great earnest. ISText morn- 
ing at sunrise, while walking to and fro in his 
garden, and lifting up his soul to God, light and 
peace sprang up in his heart, and he rejoiced in 
Christ his Saviour. 

Thus was the blind brought by a way which he 
knew not; darkness was made light before him, and 
crooked things straight. The news of his conver- 
sion had a happy effect, and his support of Method- 
ism was henceforth as sincere as his experience had 
been singular. 

The year was drawing to a close. All felt that 
the Church was passing through a crisis. The offi- 
cials, with a few other thoughtful and zealous 
brethren, held a consultation to interchange views 
on the situation. Old Brother Carsner's opinion 
was, a ¥e had better let well enough alone. The 
society has prospered for several years; and though 
this year has not been favorable, yet this little back- 
set is nothing uncommon in the history of God's 
people. We need no change but what Conference 
will make for us; and with a good, earnest preacher 
next year, we will recover our lost ground in a few 
months." They all regretted to dissent from the old 
patriarch's views : he had been a prince in Israel so 
long, that it seemed like treason to reject his coun- 
sel. But Brother Jacob Gliddon had set his heart 
on a change, and gave his opinion as follows: "We 
are able to support a stationed preacher, and ought 
4 



74 Our Church in Sandburg. 



to have liim. Sandburg has increased, and is yet 
increasing, in population, and Our Church has nearly 
doubled its numbers in the last three years. The 
circuit is large enough, and strong enough, without 
us. Let us ask the Presiding Elder to secure for us 
a pastor. We need him here all the time ; we ought 
to have services every Sunday, instead of twice a 
month/' 

Brother Talbot — an intelligent and pious mer- 
chant, whose accession I should have mentioned be- 
fore — indorsed the views of Brother Gliddon, and 
enlarged upon some of the advantages likely to ac- 
crue, especially to young people, from the labors of 
a regular pastor. Old Brother Carsner assured the 
rest that he would acquiesce in the wishes of the ma- 
jority, and so all harmonized upon the point in ques- 
tion. Some of the older brethren, when they were 
informed of the proposed change, felt how painful it 
would be to sever the ties that bound them to other 
parts of the circuit. They understood the opera- 
tions of the Church in this connection — changing 
to a station seemed to them an innovation on estab- 
lished usages; they would miss their long rides to 
distant quarterly meetings, and they would have to 
pay more quarterage than they felt willing to pay. 
These views, prompted more by feeling than by 
sober reason and Christian zeal, were treated re- 
spectfully by those who saw the subject in a better 
light, but were finally overruled by a large majority. 

When the Presiding Elder was consulted, he 
fully agreed with the prevailing preference, and 
promised to exert his influence in this behalf. He 



Our Church in Sandburg. 75 



was a man of large and enlightened vision, as well 
as experience and " understanding, to know what 
Israel ought to do." He always advocated pro- 
gress, believed in enlarging the borders of Zion, 
and, as he had great weight in the cabinet, we 
felt that our plan would almost certainly be 
adopted. 



76 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Fourth year — The Bishop's visit and ministrations — Does God 
direct his people? — Egbert Worth stationed in Sandburg — 
The man, his labors and studies — Church thronged — A 
wonderful revival and increase — A bereavement — Place 
supplied — Old Brother Carsner retires — New class-leader — 
A rich, proud steward — Sunday-school prospers — "Thank 
some brother to raise the tune." 

PROVIDENTIALLY, the Bishop passed through 
Sandburg, on his way to Conference. Here he 
remained several days, including Sunday. Seeing 
the rapid advancement of the town, and conversing 
freely with the brethren, he highly appreciated the 
wisdom of their views, and cordially sympathized 
with their wishes. The Church was encouraged by 
the interest he exhibited in their affairs, and prof- 
ited otherwise by his visitation. His godly coun- 
sels, genial gravity in the social circle, and especially 
his deep, chaste, "weighty, and powerful" sermon 
on Sunday, made a lasting impression on the whole 
community. I recall, even yet, his " meek and un- 
affected grace" in the pulpit, and distinctly recollect 
one sentence in his introductory prayer: "Go with 
us up to Conference; preside over us, and direct us 
in our deliberations." This sentence awakened the. 
inquiry, Does God control the counsels of his serv- 



Our Church in Sandburg. 77 



ants, disposing their minds to wise conclusions ? If 
so, then should prayer be made without ceasing for 
our spiritual guides, and our solicitude for future 
arrangements should give place to patient waiting 
on the Lord. We all felt that our cause was in safe 
hands, both divine and human, when we saw the 
Bishop, the Presiding Elder, and one or two of our 
most solid brethren, roll out of Sandburg in the 
stage-coach for Conference, about sixty miles away. 

In due time the appointments were announced: 
ours was, " Sandburg Station, Egbert Worth." He 
came almost simultaneously with the news. Being 
a single man, with no domestic cares, and all his 
worldly store — a box of books and a trunk of clothes 
— easily transferable, he had nothing to prevent im- 
mediate entrance into his new charge. And as this 
was a crisis in our history, and as this year's work 
affected the future for many years following, I must 
minutely describe the efficient instrument of such 
large results. 

Brother Worth was comparatively young, about 
twenty-seven, and had now been traveling six years. 
His personal appearance was not prepossessing, his 
size below medium, features pale and thoughtful, 
movements quick and restless. His only manly 
beauty was his eyes. They indicated, at all times, 
depth, penetration, and frankness; and, when ani- 
mated, they almost sparkled with the light of 
thought. His whole expression of countenance 
indicated character, without, at first, showing what 
sort of character. In natural gifts — that is, in abil- 
ity to discern quickly, and grasp firmly, the salient 



78 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



points of a text — he was not extraordinary; but in 
patient mental toil, in persistent effort to fathom 
the depths, and survey the whole extent of a theme, 
he surpassed all men I ever knew. He read the 
Bible, with notes, an hour every morning, kneeling 
before the outspread volume, and praying for light 
and understanding. The plan of a sermon being 
formed, he laid the whole realm of knowledge, as 
far as he had explored it, under tribute for proof, 
explanation, and illustration. His discourses were, 
therefore, models of exhaustive discussion. They 
were delivered in chaste and appropriate language, 
and in a style very like John "Wesley's.^ It is hardly 
correct to say he was eloquent: his style and man- 
ner both bordered too closely upon stiffness, and his 
sentences were too rigidly logical to be called elo- 
quent, in the popular sense. And yet the vast 
crowds that thronged the church paid him the 
homage always rendered to oratory — a silent and 
intense attention. The only defect in his character 
as a preacher was that he could neither exhort nor 
extemporize. If forced to talk to a congregation, 
without previous preparation, he was confused, and 
rambled vaguely about as if in search of something 
to say. His only safety, in such cases, was to call 
up the outlines of some theme, previously digested, 
and follow its leading points rigidly through. Even 
his short talks at prayer-meetings were carefully 
studied expositions of portions of Scripture, and all 
the exhortation he delivered was a pointed and for- 
cible application of the subject to the people then 
present. This habit, which made careful prepara- 



Our Church in Sandburg. 79 



tion an absolute necessity, was, to a limited ex- 
tent, a drawback; and I recollect hearing the older 
brethren express regrets that their preacher had so 
little of the off-hand readiness for which Methodist 
preachers were remarkable. But they all forgot 
this one little fault when he did get ready, and came 
before them with the burnished panoply of gospel 
truth. 

The pulpit was not Brother Worth's only strong 
point. After spending the forenoon in his room, in 
intense and prayerful study, he visited from house 
to house in the afternoon, instructing, admonishing, 
comforting, and praying with his flock. This plan 
of pastoral work he pursued with the same unyield- 
ing rigor that ruled his private habits, and hence he 
was scarcely known in the social circle. "When in 
company, he was silent, unless all would disten to 
him ;^ for he had no conversational talents. But his 
words were always instructive, though not always 
fully adapted to the occasion. 

Such labors as those above described could not be 
long unrewarded, The congregation was growing 
in size and seriousness, and the Church was growing 
in spiritual grace. One Sunday, I think it was early 
in June, in preaching from St. "John iii. 16 — "For 
God so loved the world/' etc. — his very soul seemed 
to glow with more than mortal ardor, as he por- 
trayed God's love to a ruined world. It seemed as 
if an atmosphere of love, like that which surrounds 
the throne of glory, enveloped and inspired him. 
The congregation was moved, the power of the 
Spirit was manifest, the word of God was niagni- 



80 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



fied. At night his text was, "Some have not the 
knowledge of God; I speak this to your shame." 
The peroration, portraying the shame — the ever- 
lasting and overwhelming shame — of those who 
live and die without knowing God, as revealed in 
Jesus Christ, was irresistible. The triumph of the 
gospel was complete. Penitents were invited to 
the altar. They went with tears and sobs — they 
went in haste, prostrating their convulsed forms at 
and around the altar. The old, the middle-aged, 
the young, from nearly every station in society, 
were there together, weeping over their sins and 
praying for mercy. About three weeks this scene 
was repeated, night after night, with such varia- 
tions only as the number of conversions or the 
increase of mourners naturally produced. Yery 
many found peace at their homes, and went next 
night to tell the wonderful story. I cannot state, 
with any degree of accurateness, the number of 
converts; but "many were added to the Lord." 

A full account of this wonderful work of grace 
would fill a large volume. The fruits remain io 
this day. Among the converts were many young 
men, some few of whom, after running well for a 
time, became entangled in worldly snares, and yielded 
themselves willing captives to Satan ; others stood 
firm by the colors of their great Leader, and died 
on the field of battle; a few yet live, in Sandburg 
and in other places, men of faith, men of devotion 
to Christ and his kingdom; two of them entered 
the ministry, and bore the banner of the cross to 
far-distant regions. There were several conspicu- 



Our Church in Sandburg. 81 



ous conversions from gay and frivolous life to the 
quiet and happy walks of piety, among the young 
ladies. All these, as far as I know, continued stead- 
fast: some few were full of good works, and for 
many years adorned the doctrine of Christ by their 
self-denial and intelligent devotion to his cause. 
Our membership was augmented, not only in num- 
bers, but in spiritual strength. Its position was so 
firmly fixed in the community, that no ecclesiastical 
rivalry could modify or check its increasing influ- 
ence. 

In the meantime several modifications had taken 
place in town and Church affairs. Just before tile 
revival, our good ' local preacher, Brother Givons, 
whose growing family of boys demanded a change 
in his mode of living, removed to the distant "West. 
It was a sorrowful day to his brethren, when his 
white-covered wagons, followed by servants and 
older children, moved slowly out of Sandburg. To 
compensate for this loss, we received another local 
preacher, Rev. Thomas Leroy. He came from an 
adjoining county to establish and edit a newspaper 
in our town. He was a man of an excellent spirit, 
consistent in his piety, not a very fluent preacher, 
but wonderfully gifted in exhortation and prayer. 
I vividly recall his thrilling appeals to the throne 
of grace, and his pathetic and pointed directions to 
mourners. His pious and intelligent wife added to 
the available strength of the sisterhood. She was 
a model Christian lady, and a Priscilla in evangel- 
izing labors. 

It is sad to drop from the list of active workers 
4* 



82 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



our dear old Brother Carsner. He had grown too 
feeble with age to go in and out before us, as he had 
long and faithfully done. He said, "All I can do 
now is to await my appointed time, till my change 
come." Brother "William Hall was appointed to 
the leadership, thus left vacant. He was a man 
worthy of a biography. His life was uneventful, 
his deportment modest, his daily walk simple, plain, 
meek; but I often thought that his real influence 
was more felt in the Church and in the world than 
that of any other member. When he walked the 
streets, the wicked were forced to say — and were 
often heard to say — " There goes a good man." He 
served the Church, first, in another charge, and, 
from this date till his death, in our station, through 
a longer series of years than any other named in 
this history, and always with success in whatever 
office he was placed. 

I mention, with less satisfaction, a new steward, 
who, about this time, came into office — Eobert 
Ticknor, a wealthy merchant, a pleasant gentleman 
— one of the strong men, socially and financially, 
of the town. He was, by far, the richest man in 
the Church at that time, and might have been of im- 
mense advantage to the cause; but really, he did us 
no good. His show of religion abroad was not justi- 
fied by his mode of living at home. His family grew 
up to love and follow "the vain pomp and glory of 
the world." "His sons did evil, and he restrained 
them not." But just at the date now under notice, 
his life was not altogether so objectionable as it af- 
terward became, and there was strength enough in 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



83 



the Church to counteract the evil influence of his 
example. 

Under Brother "Worth's administration, improve- 
ments were made in other departments. The Sun- 
day-school was an object of watch-care and diligent 
nurture. He fully appreciated its immense value : 
it was the nursery, which was to furnish young and 
vigorous scions for the Lord's vineyard — its nurs- 
lings now, were to be the fruit-bearing vines of the 
future. His efforts were seconded by a noble band 
of workers, male and female, who, from week to 
week, gave time and thought and prayer to prepar- 
ations for Sunday's duties. Many young immortals 
learned from their lips the way to the kingdom, 
and were bright examples of religion in after years. 
It was a transcendantly lovely scene, that crowd of 
children and youth, eagerly listening to these earn- 
est instructions in the truths of eternal life. 

"With an eye to all that is profitable in public 
worship, Brother "Worth gave attention to congre- 
gational singing. This necessary part of divine ser- 
vice had not been cultivated : our singing was not 
subject to any recognized rules of authority or pro- 
priety. " Thank some brother to set, and carry the 
tune," was about all that was ever said on the sub- 
ject; and "some brother" — whoever happened to be 
in the best tune at the critical moment — obeyed the 
summons. Sometimes the key would be too high; 
neither he who pitched it, nor those who pitched 
after it, could follow its flights, and there was a 
shameful break-down. Then, again, the key would 
be too low; "some brother" would choke down in 



84 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



his first descent below the staff, and an awkward 
pause would ensue. Occasionally, a brisk begin- 
ning of a common-meter air to a long-meter hymn, 
caused an amusing balk. This was to be remedied, 
and was remedied, by practice every Thursday night, 
under a competent teacher. He soon had a trained 
band of male and female voices, strong enough to 
manage the straggling singers of the congregation. 
This was a grand improvement. " Some brother's" 
" occupation was gone," and, with his office, our 
troubles disappeared for a season. Even Brother 
Ticknor, who, with all his money, was vain of his 
musical powers, and who, almost invariably, butch- 
ered one or two tunes before he could find one to 
"set and carry" successfully, gracefully acknowl- 
edged the improvement, and followed the chosen 
leader. Brother Harvey, a very modest brother, 
and a poor man in worldly goods, was our leader, 
and was found to be richly endowed with this use- 
ful talent. The old practice of lining the hymns 
was continued. 



Our Church in Sandburg. 85 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Fourth year continued — Compactness — Not numbers, but an- 
imus — Eelentless conflict — Growing importance of Sand- 
burg — Presbyterians — Their pastor— Another organization ; 
claims all, allows none — The harness off, and on again — 
Godly women — " Old Sister Phipps " prays loud — Advantage 
of quarterly meetings—Fanaticism rebuked. 

A N" organization so complete, presents the 



-£3- Church in distinct and cognizable outline be- 
fore the world — " a city set upon a hill, that cannot 
be hid." Making due allowances for human frail- 
ties — for there must needs be frailties in every thing 
human — Our Church was, at this date, in all its vis- 
ible affairs, a compact and powerful institution. It 
was a trained and disciplined cohort of true and 
trusty soldiers of the cross. Its membership in- 
cluded representative men and women from every 
grade of society. With enough of the middle and 
upper classes, in point of culture and resources, 
to insure respectability before men, we embraced 
enough of the poor and ignorant to vindicate our 
claim to genuine Churchship in the sight of God. 
While we rejoiced in the orderly walk of a large 
majority, we occasionally had to deplore the delin- 
quencies and backslidings of a few. With these, 
such disciplinary measures were taken as to show 




86 



Our Church in Saxdburg 



that we were striving for purity more than for 
numbers — for character rather than names. And 
whatever might be the opinion of the outside world, 
we did not estimate our strength by the number 
and social rank of our members, but by the signs 
of the spirit of Christ in their lives. 

fully recognized the relentless conflict that 
ever has existed between the cause of Christ and the 
world — a conflict in which advantage on either side 
is certain defeat to the other. These are the two 
central forces that solicit the human soul — one 
drawing man toward God, the other clra^ino; him 
to ruin. The votaries of worldly pleasure seek 
happiness on principles wholly different from those 
prescribed in the Bible and adopted by believers. 
Knowing this, the former make overtures to the 
latter by treacherous efforts to confuse moral dis- 
tinctions — "by cunning craftiness, whereby they lie 
in wait to deceive" — to persuade Christians that the 
maxims of the world are true, its pursuits legiti- 
mate, its pleasures lawful. "There is no harm in 
this," is a siren song, which Satan has set to en- 
chanting music, to lure young pilgrims into snares 
and death. Bv this means a few of our young 
members were led away this year. They lusted af- 
ter the flesh-pots of Egypt; they looked back wist- 
fully to the gross delights of Sodom; they returned, 
like Orpah, to the gods of Moab. After faithful but 
unavailing efforts to regain them, they were stricken 
from the list of probationers. " They refused to 
hear the Church," and were, therefore, separated 
from it, and became " as heathen men and publicans." 



Our Church in Sandburg. 87 



The growing importance of Sandburg attracted 
to it many new citizens, who differed from us in re- 
ligious sentiments. A Presbyterian Church was 
constituted about this time, with a goodly member- 
ship, and the Rev. Dr. Gracey was installed as pas- 
tor. He was a fine scholar, an urbane gentleman, 
and a devoted minister. His Church was a strong 
accession to the Christian strength of our town, 
and, in its own quiet and regular way, sustained 
and aided the aggressive efforts hitherto made by 
Methodism. There being ample room for both, 
they worked in perfect harmony, and bore the same 
testimony against sin and in favor of spiritual re- 
ligion. 

Another organization, of smaller proportions, 
but far loftier pretensions, was set up in our midst. 
The building was erected by means collected in 
other portions of the country — the peculiar teach- 
ings of this people being entirely new to most of 
our population. The house was dedicated with 
great pomp, and was named " Christ's Church." 
The bishop, who dedicated it, was converted in a 
Methodist prayer-meeting, but had left that com- 
munion afterward, from motives which I will not 
question. The pastor of the small flock was the 
Rev. Mr. Free, a New England school-teacher, and 
a Congregational preacher, who had come to our 
warmer latitude several years before, had discovered 
his error in theology, and found, as he supposed, 
the ultima thule of ecclesiastical terra Jirma. He de- 
nounced all other denominations as sectaries, all 
their preachers as unauthorized intruders into the 



88 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



riglitful heritage of the Church, putting heavy ac- 
cent on the words, "to whom we gave no sack com- 
mand;" but charitably proclaimed his right and read- 
iness to receive into the true fold, and bless with 
apostolic authority, all deluded children of heresy 
who would return to the motherly bosom of the 
Church. His efforts to proselyte the weak and 
wavering were truly wonderful, and worthy of a 
better cause. But as his bishop and himself, and 
nearly all who belonged to his organization, were 
well known to have been inducted into the Christian 
profession by some one or other of the "godless 
sects/' and to have found the true way by much 
studying, long after they had found Christ by much 
praying, his appeals were very little heeded. Meth- 
odists, and others who appreciated a scriptural ex- 
perience more than they did an imposing ritual, 
could not renounce the instrument by which they 
had been blessed with the former, for the sake of 
adopting the empty display of the latter. One of 
our brethren, who occasionally complained of our 
strict rul&s, went over, and was confirmed. In a 
short time he came back, begged pardon for his de- 
fection, and was restored to fellowship. He said, 
"If I ever get the harness on again, I '11 wear it to 
the grave." He found no " grace to help him" in 
mere forms. 

Among our efficient working agencies, at this 
period, the godly women deserve particular men- 
tion. Many of them, both married and unmarried, 
"labored much in the Lord." They sought out 
and assisted the poor, visited and nursed the clesti- 



Our Church in Sandburg. 89 



tute sick, encouraged and strengthened the weak, 
promoted regular attendance at class-meeting, and 
collected numbers of neglected children into the 
Sunday-school. Some of these children they clothed, 
and otherwise provided for, by united efforts to make 
money for the purpose. One of this efficient band, 
it is true, was at times an annoyance. She was a 
widow, went by the common title of " Old Sister 
Phipps," though not very aged, was entirely too 
fussy, talking in loud, twanging tones, shouted too 
boisterously, perhaps, and, on revival occasions, 
would pound and bang the mourners till they would 
beg for deliverance from her merciless zeal. In 
prayer — for she was occasionally asked to pray in 
public — her voice would rise above the noise of the 
altar, and fill the whole house with its marvelous 
volume. A dry old Scotch Presbyterian suggested 
to Brother Worth that he should send her to the 
house-top to pray, "that she might be nearer the 
throne of grace, and not have to call so loud," But 
she was a good woman, and we pardoned her ex- 
travagances for the gain of her godly influence. 
There were others, far more discreet, who did not 
so much honor Christ. I do not eulogize her stun- 
ning tones, but I honor her consistent piety. Even 
those who jested at her faults, confessed the power 
of her example. 

Our Church enjoyed, for the first time, this year, 
the benefit of four quarterly meetings. Before, be- 
ing in a large circuity we had this privilege not 
oftener than once a year. We had a new Presiding 
Elder on the District, a man of fame and power. 



90 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



His talents were of the highest order— he was a 
prince among nobles. His manly form and genial 
face won favor with a congregation as soon as he 
rose before them— a favor that grew to admiration 
and love before he was far advanced in his sermon. 
His expositions of law and gospel, of type and anti- 
type, and of the one offering for sin on Calvary, 
were profound in thought and grand in imagery. 
His delineations of the sinfulness of sin, the perils 
of the sinner, and the woes of the second death, 
were like "sharp arrows of the mighty," hurled 
with unerring aim. It so happened that quarterly 
meeting occurred during the progress of our great 
revival. The labors of the Presiding Elder were 
abundant, and greatly promoted the grand tri- 
umphs of that occasion. 

These wonderful discourses, together with the 
love-feasts connected with quarterly meetings, were 
seasons of grace to the believers, whereby they were 
refreshed and comforted. In one love - feast, a 
brother spoke extravagantly of great lights and 
visions that he had seen, and voices that he had 
heard. The Presiding Elder said, " Stop, brother, 
you must be mistaken; you only imagined you saw 
and heard these things." "It is every word true," 
said the brother; "I saw — " "Sit down!" thun- 
dered the Presiding Elder; "we want none of that 
nonsense here;" — a fitting rebuke of fanatical non- 
sense. 

At that time, quarterly meetings were occasions 
of much more interest than they are now. The 
Elder's coming was anticipated with high expecta- 



Our Church in Sandburg. 91 



tion. He was supposed to be a man of deep piety 
and large theological attainments, able to instruct 
and edify believers, and mightily convince gain- 
sayers. Frequently, one or more preachers from 
other charges in the District attended him, and 
added the interest of variety to the special services 
of the occasion. If this historical grace of the 
quarterly visitation is not now a fully recognized 
fact in Methodism, it behooves the present genera- 
tion, both ministry and laity, to investigate the 
cause of this forfeiture, and seek to restore to its 
utmost spiritual utility an institution so essential to 
our temporal economy. * 



92 Our Church in Sandburg. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Fifth, sixth, and seventh years — Cultivating the field — Meth- 
odism grows apace — Sandburg, a central point — Brother 
Lang — His style and spirit — Church polity discussed — Chris- 
tian education — School proposed — Brother Davidson — 
Scholarly and exact — Diversities of gifts — Preacher's wife — 
She labors much — Books and Advocates — Two candidates 
for the ministry — Brother Lowe — Stately and morose, but 
preaches well — Eeaction: worldliness and coldness — Danc- 
ing, and other follies — Our testimony — A "Stonewall" in 
the Church. 

ry^HE three years which succeeded the eventful 
-A- first of our station-life were distinguished by 
no remarkable occurrences. These may be grouped 
together, partly to avoid tedious details, and partly 
because they present no changes, except in one 
single item, which marked an epoch in our history. 
The three successive pastors who followed Brother 
Worth seemed to be employed in cultivating the 
vines he had planted, and gathering the fruits of 
his toils, rather than in enlarging the field and 
breaking up virgin soil. This work was needful, 
and, in its general results, yielded abundant remu- 
neration. 

This period was one of grand progress and suc- 
cess in Methodism generally. Its triumphs filled 
the land, excited the wonder of thinking men, and 



Our Church in Sandburg. 93 



provoked other Churches to zeal and good works. 
Sandburg became a central point in the Connec- 
tion, if not quite the metropolis of a large region 
of country. 

Our next pastor was the Rev. George Lang, a 
comely, gentle, polished man, and a deeply pious 
Christian. Everybody was well pleased with his 
appearance, and predicted favorable results from his 
labors. He was not a laborious student, like his 
predecessor. His sermons were not as instructive, 
his thoughts were not so carefully arranged, and 
were not delivered with the same consciousness of 
mastery. He was a reader, rather than a thinker, 
and hence his public efforts did not excite, and at 
the same time feed, the thought of his hearers. 
Yet he was not a negligent pastor, but secured and 
sustained the confidence of his flock, looking after 
all their interests with commendable care. In one 
field he was eminently skilled; that is, in contro- 
verted questions of theology and ecclesiastical gov- 
ernment. This was his forte, and whenever occa- 
sion demanded, he entered the field armed with 
facts and arguments to maintain his cause; and 
while he never gave just grounds for offense, al- 
ways speaking respectfully of his opposers, he dealt 
them merciless and deadly blows. Thus were this 
people instructed in the peculiar tenets of our faith, 
and the members were built up in sound doctrine — 
a culture essential to vigorous and healthful devel- 
opment. There never was, perhaps, a congregation 
more thoroughly taught in the way of salvation by 
faith in Christ, and in the necessity of holiness as a 



94 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



fruit of faith, than ours was; but as to the reasons 
why we did, and should, prefer to be Methodists 
rather than Baptists or Presbyterians, we had hith- 
erto heard but little. Brother Lang incited us to 
"walk about" our "Zion, to mark well her bul- 
warks and tell her towers," that we might stand 
unshaken by the rash assaults frequently made upon 
us by ecclesiastical opposers. A series of sermons 
which he delivered on succession and ordination 
increased his reputation as an able minister, and 
guarded us from danger in that direction; and he 
was no less felicitous in discussing the mode and 
significance of water baptism, and the doctrine of 
universal redemption. In these respects his min- 
istry was timely and exceedingly valuable. 

During this year the subject of Christian educa- 
tion began to be much agitated. It was asked, 
"Why commit to the hands of others the delicate 
task of training our children? In most of the 
schools of the country, teaching was pursued as a 
trade, rather than as an honorable profession. Teach- 
ers were known to be, to a very great extent, the 
molders of character, and most of them were both 
imperfect models and unskilled workmen. How 
could they educate men, such as were needed for 
the country and the Church ? This was a grave 
question, involving weighty issues. The laity dis- 
cussed it in private, the preachers studied it, and 
wrote about it, and the Conference resolved, "That 
it was expedient to establish a school of high grade 
for young men, to be organized and managed under 
their supervision." The object, thus formally pro- 



Our Church in Sandburg. 95 



posed, met with general favor. Agents were sent 
forth to solicit funds for the purpose — with what 
success we shall see on a future page. 

Our Church held its ground this year, and was 
consolidated, but made no decided aggression. It 
was increased in strength, but not much in num- 
bers. Some were added to its roll by letter and by 
profession, and some few were stricken off for dere- 
liction of duty and for graver offenses. Brother 
Lang was loved by his flock, respected by the world, 
and dreaded by ecclesiastical enemies. These ene- 
mies thundered away at us, now and then, from 
their frowning batteries; but either. they did not get 
our range, or their shells would not explode, or our 
works were too strong for their guns: no harm was 
done — we continued to hold the field. 

Thus flowed the current of time; thus came and 
went months, with their events, and Sabbaths with 
their privileges, till Brother Lang, having fulfilled 
his course at our altar, departed to minister to an- 
other fold, and we found ourselves under the care 
of a new shepherd. The Rev. Josephus Davidson 
was our next pastor. He was entirely new to our 
place and region, having worked in fields far dis- 
tant from our part of the Conference. He pre- 
sented some traits of character which attracted 
attention, and excited comment at first — they were 
so unlike any thing we had previously known. He 
was the cleanest-looking man I ever saw — was scru- 
pulously, almost delicately, neat in person and 
attire. All this, on a rather roughly made, angular 
frame, and with features somewhat gross and irreg- 



96 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



ular, looked odd enough, and contradicted the usual 
law of individuality. Another novelty in his case was 
that he brought a wife with him, w T hich involved 
additional expenses, and opened, for the first time, 
the troublesome question of a home for the preach- 
er's family. A few of the older brethren, who re- 
membered the days of Asbury and his bachelor 
heroes, were inclined to blame Brother Davidson 
for "incumbering himself with a wife/' as they 
were pleased to express it; but the stewards willingly 
accepted the situation, though wholly unexpected, 
and soon had the preacher and his family comforta- 
bly domiciled. Sister Davidson was a lovely,Chris- 
tian woman, not foolishly shrinking from the scru- 
tiny to wdiich her position subjected her, nor 
claiming more deference than other ladies of equal 
merit, but going quietly along the open path of 
duty — a helpmeet, instead of an incumbrance to 
her husband. 

He was a studious, scholarly gentleman, thor- 
oughly versed in the classics, and devoted to that 
branch of learning, having come into the ministry 
from the vocation of a teacher. His chief fault as 
a speaker, besides a little harshness in voice and 
stiffness in manner, was too great an effort at exact- 
ness in expression. He seemed to be afraid to 
speak out the word that first came up, lest there 
might be, somewhere in the dictionary, another 
which would possibly be more suitable. Those who 
had appreciated the bright and glittering sentences 
of Brother Worth, or enjoyed the voluminous and 
free declamation of Brother Lang, felt cramped by 



Our Church in Sandburg. 97 



the Gunter-like precision of Brother Davidson. 
The average hearer wants his mental nourishment 
in bulk: when it is spread before him, condensed 
and reduced to its very essence, his perception is not 
sufficiently delicate to receive it. The effort of a 
hard-worked hand to pick up a pin from a smooth 
floor, illustrates the mental struggle of which I am 
speaking. Such hearers did not always feel satis- 
fied with this preacher's sermons. 

However, " there are diversities of gifts, but the 
same Spirit; and there are differences of ministries, 
but the same Lord." We perceived that this same 
Spirit was in our new minister, and we allowed him 
to indulge his peculiar bias, and to go on rasping, 
and filing, and sand-papering his sentences, while we 
rejoiced in the earnestness of the preacher and the 
soundness of the doctrine. "Paul, and Apollos, 
and Cephas!" blessed be the Lord who hath given 
to his people a diversified ministry; for so shall a 
larger number hear with profit— so shall the more 
be saved ! 

Under this cautious and somewhat hesitating pas- 
torship, Our Church moved along in peace and safety, 
ever guided to the purest waters, and led into pas- 
turage farthest from devouring wolves. Now and 
then there was an addition to the flock, occasionally 
a loss by death, by defection, worse than death, or 
by removal to distant parts. 

The most notable improvement was made in the 
female department. Sister Davidson possessed 
a ram administrative talent, and her quiet way 
gave system and order to the work undertaken by 
5 



98 Our Church in Sandburg. 

the sisterhood. She was not inclined to lead in 
these matters, but they found her suggestions so ju- 
dicious, and her experience so valuable every way, 
that they voluntarily insisted on her directing their 
affairs. 

The preacher's refined taste in literary matters 
excited a thirst for reading. Increased attention be- 
gan to be paid to religious literature. A larger 
number of Christian Advocates came to Sandburg 
than ever before. More Methodist books, from the 
grand "Concern" at New York, were unboxed, 
bought, and eagerly studied, than had hitherto been 
known, even by name. The profiting of this work 
soon appeared. Intelligent and well-posted men 
were able to "give a reason of the hope that was in 
them," and thus "put to silence the ignorance of 
foolish men." Those who declared that the Meth- 
odists had no authorized ministry, no valid ordin- 
ances, and, indeed, no Church, met refutation and 
rebuke where they did not expect it. And such 
practical and instructive books as Watson's Conver- 
sations, Fletcher's Appeal, and Christian Perfection, 
and the Lives of Carvosso and Stoner — little books, 
worth their weight in diamonds — were freely circu- 
lated, and carefully read, among the young. This 
class of members received special attention: a 
young men's prayer-meeting was established, and 
regularly attended, with gracious results. 

While matters were thus progressing, it trans- 
pired that two young men, converts of the great 
revival, felt it their duty to preach the gospel. The 
pastor carefully inquired into their feelings, directed 



Our Church in Sandburg. 99 



them to read Dr. Olin's treatise on a call to the min- 
istry, and admonished them to compare their im- 
pressions with the tests of a genuine call laid down 
in that essay. After some weeks, being satisfied 
that the good Spirit had called them to the sacred 
work, he gave them both license to exhort. When 
it was generally known that these youths professed 
a call to the ministry, and were making prelim- 
inary preparations to that end, opinions were freely 
expressed by brethren and acquaintances, as to their 
future career. One of them was pronounced, "A 
very promising boy." And, indeed, he was; for he 
showed mental development in advance of his 
years, was fluent and free in utterance, and of com- 
manding personal appearance. The other was 
timid, shrinking, easily confused, at a loss for words 
when he most needed them, and there was nothing 
in his appearance to justify large expectations. 
Opinion and prophecy corresponded unanimously 
with the surface manifestations: while all agreed 
that the former would "make his mark in the 
world," the latter was advised by one of the leading 
brethren to abandon his purpose, and turn his at- 
tention to business. "You never can make a 
preacher, and you had better not try," was the ad- 
vice given him. People never were more mistaken. 
The "promising boy" was never known beyond a 
contracted sphere; the unpromising one soon rose 
to high position, and still maintains it. Opinions, 
formed on external appearances, are more fre- 
quently wrong than right. The only safe rule to 
follow, in such cases, is to say, "Go, and try," when 



100 Our Church in Sandburg. 



the religious character of the candidate is good. 
This, of course, must be unquestionable, and all the 
intellectual culture possible must be enjoined, and 
then let the candidate either justify or refute his 
claim by actual experiment. 

Brother Davidson's term of service ran its une- 
ventful course — uneventful, in a sense historical or 
romantic, but in reality fruitful as a period of edi- 
fication and instruction. He left behind many 
warm friends; he carried with him the good- will 
of the entire Christian community. Erelong, we 
were sitting under the sound of a new voice, and 
accepting pastoral care from another hand. The 
Rev. W. Q-. Lowe was our next preacher. About 
him I must speak cautiously, for he did not gain 
my love; sometimes I had to labor to endure him, 
and, therefore, I may not do him full justice. 

Brother Lowe attracted attention everywhere by 
his stately stature and evident self-poise. His look 
was solemn, gloomy, sorrowful. A smile seldom 
visited his features, and when it came, it hurried 
away, as if to escape rebuke. His face was sugges- 
tive of arctic winter, with only now and then a faint 
borealis to mitigate its night. To the young, nay, 
to all who deemed religion no enemy to cheerful- 
ness, he seemed like a huge iceberg floating in a 
polar sea. " Hush ! the preacher is coming ! " an- 
nounced his approach. Yet, really, he was not cold- 
hearted. From a mistaken view of sanctity, he had 
fallen into this unlovely habit. It was "his way," 
and when we discovered this, we began to feel a 
little more at ease in his presence. But he was too 



Our Chukch in Sandbukg. 101 



far removed from the region of hope and bright- 
ness in which young people dwell, and without 
which their existence is abnormal and deformed, to 
feel any sympathy with their joys or their sorrows. 
He was severe, even unkind and harsh, in reprov- 
ing small indiscretions; and for this cause he was 
dreaded, and in some instances, perhaps, hated, 
where he should have received affectionate rev- 
erence. 

^Nevertheless, Brother Lowe was no ordinary 
preacher. On the cardinal doctrines of the Bible 
he was clear, strong, convincing. After a slow, 
drawling exordium, he waxed warm with his theme, 
his somber features grew bright, the rigid stiffness 
of his manner gave place to easy dignity of gesture, 
and he carried his hearers with him through the 
grandest fields of thought. Had his manner out 
of the pulpit corresponded with his power in it, he 
would have been among the successful men of his 
day. This lack of every-day force, however, de- 
tracted from his influence as a pastor, and the 
Church did not grow and prosper very healthfully 
under his care. 

It is, doubtless, unfair to blame a pastor for all 
the evils that may prevail, at any time, in his charge. 
He is not, perhaps, the cause of them, and has no 
power to check or remove them. He must guard 
against their entering in among his people, must 
testify boldly against them, and use all lawful meas- 
ures to expel them; but we must not hold him re- 
sponsible for their existence. 

There appeared to be, just at this time, a reaction 



102 Our Church in Sandburg. 



in our religious condition. Worldliness made stealthy- 
inroads upon us, apathy gained ascendency over 
many of the older members, and gay pleasures stole 
away the hearts of some of the younger. The pas- 
tor was not ignorant of these facts, nor did he fail 
to " reprove, rebuke, and exhort;" but he delivered 
his remonstrances in such morose tones and bitter 
terms, as to deprive them of their desired effect. 
He lacked the loving spirit of a tender shepherd, 
who wins and leads by the voice of affection. Danc- 
ing became popular, as a social recreation, and sev- 
eral of our young people — especially those who 
were not blessed with favorable restraints at home 
— listened too willingly to the specious arguments 
in its favor, and were ensnared by their sophistry. 
" It is no harm," said certain refined gentlemen and 
ladies; "It is an innocent amusement — a graceful 
and healthful exercise," said a proselyting clergy- 
man ; " I have known whole communities reformed 
by dancing," declared a learned bishop. Our Church 
stood almost alone in bearing testimony against this 
fleshly pleasure, with the double task of preserving 
itself from ruin, and convincing the world of its 
scriptural position on the subject. The question 
was a serious one. In the minds of some, it as- 
sumed the magnitude of social martyrdom for re- 
ligion. They could not see how they could main- 
tain their social status, and yet refuse to join in the 
chief social enjoyment of their equals in society. 
It was a perplexing problem, truly difficult of solu- 
tion. Indeed, the issue seemed to be squarely made: 
" You must conform to the approved usages of good 



Our Church in Sandburg. 103 



society, or you must take a second rank — a back 
seat in social life." This alternative, backed by the 
fascination that naturally attaches to frivolity, aug- 
mented the force of the world's side of the ques- 
tion. There were but two ways of meeting the 
issue. One was, to give up the disputed point, and 
go over to the enemy; the other was, to make a de- 
cided stand against him, denounce the practice as 
wicked in Christians, and immodest in sinners — a 
heathenish festivity, anciently — a "Caucasian in- 
sanity " — most popular always in the most dissolute 
and immoral ages — and to claim the highest posi- 
tion in life for the purest form of religion. The 
advocates of this claim assumed that the Church is 
the exponent of moral order; that the world has 
neither the right nor the ability to dictate to it 
on matters of right and wrong, and that every at- 
tempt to do so is an aggression and a trespass. But 
nothing so much gratifies the wicked as to see 
Christians disgrace their high profession. Hence, 
the abettors of dancing used all arts and devices to 
attract to their giddy gatherings unwary professors, 
and involve them in the odium which their Church 
had denounced upon this custom. To induce a 
young Methodist, under the excitements of a jovial 
company, to throw away his profession, and " dance 
himself out of the Church," was the grand endeavor 
of some who were falsely called "gentlemen." In 
this, alas ! they did succeed in a few instances, but 
finally they were beaten in the contest. They did 
some mischief to the cause of religion by drawing 
two or three volatile young members entirely away 



104 



Our Church m Sandburg. 



from us, but they could proceed no farther. The 
more solid members stood firm in their principles. 
Judicious counsel and earnest entreaty removed the 
poison from the minds of some, and others saw 
their peril and drew back alarmed at the fearful 
gulf of sin to whose brink they had ventured. 
Brother Lowe, seeing that his wrathful threaten- 
ings availed nothing, relaxed his rigid manner, and 
approached delinquents with more conciliatory ad- 
dress, and thus gained an influence over hearts 
where his lack of warmth had hitherto denied him 
entrance. By the close of his term, he and we re- 
gained much of the ground that once seemed hope- 
lessly lost. But this was not a prosperous year. 
Our roll was shortened by two deaths — two estima- 
ble and pious young mothers — several removals to 
other parts, and by the defection of a few who con- 
fessed they wanted '-'more elbow room' 7 in a less 
rigid communion. Our condition was far from sat- 
isfactory, but we were not in despair. 

" Honor to whom honor is due.'' In our conflict 
with the powers of darkness, in the question of 
dancing, Brother Gliddon was a " Stonewall,*' in 
coolness and vigor. The friend of his youth, Law- 
yer Dexter, was the confessed leader of the world's 
forces. These men had been brought up together, 
and each respected the others talents. Dexter 
knew the strength of Gliddon's devotion to Christ, 
and dreaded his honest appeals; Gliddon knew 
Dexter's deep craftiness and subtle enmity to re- 
ligion, and heartily pitied him, but did not spare 
him. Our cause was greatly strengthened by the 



Our Church in Sandburg. 105 



fervent zeal of Brother Leroy, and by the meek and 
uniform life of Brother Hall ; but by neither of 
these was it more efficiently sustained than by the 
intelligent and refined piety of that noble Christian, 
Sister Leroy. Among the young ladies of Sand- 
burg she did more toward establishing and main- 
taining a scriptural standard of social life than all 
others together. These worthies, and others whose 
names, like theirs, I doubt not, " are written in the 
book of life," "fought a good fight," and "came 
off more than conquerors," in this hard-contested 
conflict. 

5* 



106 Our Church in Sandburg. 



CHAPTER X. 



Eighth year — "Sandburg Station, James Eider" — " Angel of 
the Church" — Brother Eider's odd looks and unique ways 
— Powerful exhorter — High-school established — Addresses 
— Opinions discussed : education is not religion — May be 
aided by it — Congregation mixed — Preacher's troubles — 
Emerges unhurt — Progress. 



r^J read out by the Bishop, at the close of next 
Conference. He was soon among us, and at work. 

The central figure in a congregation of worship- 
ers is the pastor — "the angel of the Church." 
"Whether wise or simple, learned or ignorant, he 
is the leader of the people, the focus of spiritual 
light, and, by virtue of his office, is "counted 
worthy of all honor." The people are necessarily 
influenced by his sentiments, must pay respect to 
his opinions, and imbibe more or less of his spirit; 
for he comes in the name of Christ, and speaks as 
his embassador. Therefore, every preacher, enter- 
ing a new field of labor, begins with all advantages 
in his favor; and if he fail to secure and retain 
favor in the eyes of his people — a favor which is 
accorded him in advance, independently of his 
merits — he is surely an unfortunate blunderer, if 
not an undeserving minister. 




STATION, James Eider," was 



Our Church in Sandburg. 107 



Brother Rider's appearance was not prepossess- 
ing. He was rather over medium size, but irregu- 
larly put together. His joints were large, and 
moved ungracefully; his head was oddly shaped — 
a curious combination of huge bumps and deep 
depressions — a puzzle, I guess, to phrenologists. 
This singular physical conformation, however, 
was relieved by a frank and generous expression 
of countenance, a playful and chaste conversa- 
tional talent, and a cordial, friendly address. He 
was a bachelor, and though not advanced beyond 
the age of susceptibility, was incumbered with 
some of the peculiarities of his class. His mental 
action was more abnormal than his physical struc- 
ture. He had no use for text-books, was not even 
an industrious reader, except in newspaper litera- 
ture. The past was nearly a blank chaos to his 
mind- — over its confused surface he seldom brooded. 
The future had some brighter attractions, but not 
sufficient to induce his home-loving thought to 
explore its hidden mysteries. The living pres- 
ent was his world : its daily unrolling canvas was 
the panoramic picture on which he delighted to 
gaze. 

In elaborating his self-originated trains of thought, 
he would stroll about town, and silently watch the 
busy labors and idle sports of the people, or drop 
in and talk awhile with a family, and then return 
to his room, light his pipe, and smoke and pat his 
foot by the hour. 

When he announced his text, no one could antici- 
pate the outlines of the sermon. He followed the 



108 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



meanderings of his eccentric thought through intri- 
cate mazes, reminding the listener of 

Tangled junipers, beds of reeds, 

And many a fen where the serpent feeds, 

And man never trod before. 

These discourses were singular mixtures of good 
theology, practical religion, and impossible philoso- 
phy. But not so every time : now and then he 
made a " lucky hit/' as he laughingly styled his 
happier efforts, and poured forth strains of fresh, 
original, and stirring eloquence, full of exalted 
piety and melting fervor. These occasional suc- 
cesses served to vitalize expectation, and keep up 
large and attentive congregations. 

But Brother Rider's distinguishing gift was exhor- 
tation, to which scriptural mode of address, as St. 
Paul advises, he had given " attendance." At our 
Wednesday night prayer-meeting — usually full 
houses — he would sometimes declaim with such 
point, energy, and unction, as to move and sway 
the hearers almost at his will. Encouragement to 
the struggling, comfort to the desponding, reproof 
to the delinquent, and warning to the thoughtless 
sinner, poured from his lips as if they had been 
touched with fire from the altar of God. Thus his 
exhortations, more than his Sunday sermons, kept 
his flock alive in the spirit of religion, and pre- 
served his pastoral work from the charge of failure. 
And although no special revival occurred this year, 
yet we began to emerge from the mist and shadow 
in which the preceding one had left us, and to shine 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



109 



forth, in radiant spiritual beauty. The pastor had 
the confidence of his charge. The majority freely 
condoned his frequent failures in the pulpit — some 
even suggested that they were the eccentric efforts 
of genius — in consideration of his efficiency at other 
times. His frankness, benevolence, and cordiality 
gained the esteem of the young men of the town. 
They sought and enjoyed his company, and greatly 
profited by his instructive conversation. 

In a former chapter I referred to the subject of 
denominational schools, and stated that Conference 
had resolved to establish one of high grade, for 
young men. The agents had so far succeeded, by 
the time we are now describing, as to enable the 
trustees to erect buildings and supply furniture 
necessary for opening the institution. The last 
week in August of this year was appointed for the 
grand ceremonies of dedicating the house and 
installing the faculty. It was a festal time for 
Sandburg, the fortunate seat of the school, and for 
Our Church, which was to be the recipient of addi- 
tional strength by the coming of professors, stu- 
dents, and new citizens. Addresses were delivered 
by distinguished statesmen, and by no less distin- 
guished ministers, with all which the vast throng 
of eager hearers were greatly delighted. The new 
president of the school made an inaugural address, 
profound in substance, and simple in arrangement, 
which foreshadowed the future of the institution, 
and created large expectations of good to arise from 
its operations. 

As this was the first effort of Methodism, in our 



110 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



latitude, to provide for the education of her own 
sons, I will be readily granted the liberty of a short 
pause in the current of my history — a pause it is, 
and not a digression — to record and review some 
of the principles announced and accepted at this 
great inauguration. The opinions advanced on the 
occasion by a prominent statesman were declared 
by him to be cardinal principles in the popular the- 
ory of education as a governing force in the State. 
" Thoroughly educate the masses/ 5 said he, "then 
obedience to just laws, and all the happy fruits of 
patriotism will follow, and make America the joy 
of her sons, the envy of rivals, and the wonder of 
nations." In harmony with this eloquent strain, a 
pious minister portrayed learning as the handmaid 
of religion. "Educate the mind," said he, "and 
the heart will love virtue, and follow its precepts : 
leave the mind in ignorance, and' the moral powers 
must be gross and sensual, and seek only those low 
delights that mark the brutal savage." 

These propositions profoundly impressed the peo- 
ple. They were uttered with all the confidence of 
deep conviction by men who seemed to be oracles, 
the one in politics, the other in theology. They so 
favorably impressed the people, that they became 
maxims, which no one dreamed of doubting in that 
day, and which, even now, are held by many as un- 
questionable truths. And as the school, at the open- 
ing of which they were uttered, had from that time 
forward for many years an intimate connection with 
the operations of Our Church, and exerted a wide 
influence on Methodism over a large area around 



Our Church in Sandburg. Ill 



Sandburg, I must be permitted to anticipate the re- 
sults of nearly forty years' experience, and to record, 
once for all, the facts which time has developed and 
observation confirmed. 

1. Education, as a separate force, has no reform- 
atory effect on moral character. I mean, of course, 
book education, such as is imparted in schools and 
colleges. It makes of a bad youth only a bold in- 
fidel, or a specious skeptic, instead of a debased and 
ignorant votary of lust. Of the hundreds of young 
men who attended Sandburg School, many were 
immoral, and some were vicious, even among those 
who stood high in scholarship. Those who sought 
education alone, got what they sought, and nothing 
more — that is, as a necessary result of mental cul- 
ture. Their minds were trained to think, but their 
hearts were not changed to love God. 

2. Education is no part of religion. The highest 
culture may be attained without one devout emo- 
tion : the purest devotion may be found in a mind 
ignorant of letters. Learning is no more the hand- 
maid of religion than is wealth, or any other ac- 
quirement. Some of the finest scholars of the last 
century were the most defiantly wicked men of 
their age. 

3. But since certain departments of Church- work 
require mental culture to prepare the worker for his 
mission, it is the duty and interest of the Church so 
to direct the education of its children that they may 
employ their intelligence in promoting the cause of 
Christ, and may serve the State, if need be, in those 
responsible offices where virtuous patriotism alone 



112 Our Church in Sandburg. 



can secure the public welfare. And since in our re- 
publican government every citizen is a participant in 
government, it is the duty of every Christian to 
promote the soundest virtue along with the neces- 
sary education of his children. An incorruptible 
Bacon would have left a noble legacy to the English 
nation, and a Christian Jefferson would have been 
the ornament of ours. 

4. Since education, without moral restraint, evi- 
dently increases the natural capacity for evil, it 
behooves the Church to so mingle moral with men- 
tal culture as to subdue the passions by bringing 
them under the restraints of religious principles. 
Thus, in the conflict of forces which develop char- 
acter and shape destiny, the good may preponderate 
over the bad. The Church ought- to provide for the 
training of her children, in view of this desirable 
result. 

The establishment of this school brought to Sand- 
burg several new citizens, men of means and culture, 
who, with their families, augmented the resources 
of society and of Our Church. The faculty — two 
able and scholarly ministers and three learned lay- 
men — increased our working strength in many 
respects, but most visibly in the Sunday-school. 
It was not without some effort and some friction 
that this new class of workers were assigned their 
places. It was like the introduction of new bands 
and untried wheels into old machinery. The effort 
at adjustment was a study in the laws of adaptation, 
interesting and profitable to philosophers. It was 
not to be expected that men, conscious of ability, 



Our Church in Sandburg. 113 



and zealous in the cause, would be slow to assume 
the position here that they had held elsewhere; nor 
was it at all surprising that the old members, who 
had so long managed matters after their own views, 
should be loth to give place to strangers. Happily 
for us, the large increase of pupils demanded more 
teachers, and the pastor, by his good-humored and 
original method of administration, succeeded in 
harmonizing the new with the old, and all soon 
flowed onward together, like the mingled waters 
of confluent rivers. 

There was one occasion of trouble, which re- 
quired more delicate work and cautious manage- 
ment. This touched Brother Eider himself, and 
he was not as quick to deliver himself from his 
own difficulties as he had been to guide the breth- 
ren through theirs. It was this : The superior pul- 
pit ability of the president of the school — the Rev. 
Dr. Stevens — excited a general desire to hear him 
more frequently than the pastor. This could not 
be concealed from Brother Eider, for many were 
imprudent enough to ask him to get Dr. Stevens 
to preach for him as often as possible, and it affected 
his sensitive feelings most painfully. I suppose this 
was one of the severest trials of his life — a great 
and sore temptation. But the brethren, under- 
standing how matters stood, appreciated the situa- 
tion, and "did not despise the temptation" of their 
worthy pastor, though they highly prized the more 
powerful sermons of Dr. Stevens. So when Brother 
Eider felt assured of the sincere esteem and confi- 
dence of his flock, he conquered the tempter, went 



114 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



bravely forward in the path of duty, utilizing as 
often as practical the aids which Providence had 
sent into his field. 

These troubles being adjusted, we then began to 
realize the magnitude of our resources. Those 
were grand days — grand in their historical facts, 
grander in the triumphs of charity over selfishness, 
but grandest in the renewed spiritual and numer- 
ical resources of a Church which had, in former 
years, fought for its position so persistently against 
io many and so formidable adversaries. 

But in reviewing the current events of this year, 
now approaching its close, while we can truthfully 
claim substantial progress, we must candidly ac- 
knowledge some disadvantages. The Church gained 
a degree and kind of strength by additional mem- 
bers — members who were ornaments to society, and 
increased our social superiority to other denomina- 
tions. There was also an improvement in zeal, and 
in compactness of organization. We were like an 
army, lately thinned and shocked by hard fighting, 
now rested and reinforced for new campaigns. We 
felt strong, and rejoiced in that consciousness. There 
was no dissension within to disturb us, no foe with- 
out to make us afraid. Our only weakness was this 
very consciousness of strength; for we rejoiced more 
heartily in our favorable situation than we did in 
the power of the Holy Spirit. The apostle said, 
When I am weak, then am I strong." Is not the 
converse of this saying equally true, both in in- 
dividuals and in Churches? Yes, when they are 
strong in pride of acquirements, or feel rich in ex- 



Our Church in Sandburg. 115 



ternal resources, they are weak in grace, and poor 
in the sight of God. Had not Our Church discov- 
ered its condition and hastened to rectify it, I know 
not what disaster might have befallen. 

We have now passed through a year of mingled 
and varied scenes. Alternate shadow and sunshine 
has flitted across our way : we thankfully pass into 
a new administration, which, if less varied, is yet 
fraught with intenser interest. 

"With sincere regret we bade farewell to our good, 
eccentric, self-denying, courageous Brother Eider, 
and waited, with whatever of patience we could 
command, to see and welcome his successor. 



116 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



CHAPTER XI. 



Ninth and tenth years — Dr. Godfrey — A model man — Inimi- 
table preacher — A serio-comic act — Brother Lawne, local 
preacher, a sound man — Sunday-school and Bible-classes — 
The stewards mortified — They " come up to the help" — Dr. 
Godfrey returned — Church flourishes — A glorious work — 
Scenes and incidents — "Quench not the Spirit" — Con- 
verted in his buggy — Fourth quarterly meeting: three 
young preachers licensed — Presiding Elder, a man of faith 
and power. 

/^vUR next pastor, the Kev. Dr. Godfrey, was all 



that heart could wish. In person lie was a 
model man, in manner a perfect gentleman, in so- 
cial conversation always edifying. His mind was 
naturally one of the strongest and best-balanced, 
had been thoroughly trained by study, and was 
stored with theological and literary lore. These 
qualities and acquirements made him conspicuous 
in every relation of life. In the pulpit he was an 
orator, as well as an expounder, and excelled in both 
characters. Crowds flocked together to listen and 
wonder, and captious criticism resigned its office, 
having found no fault to rail at. If he had a fault 
as a pastor, it was in the fact that his devotion to 
the highest culture raised him above the masses. 
With the common level of thought and feeling per- 




Our Church in Sandburg. 117 



haps he could not have a real sympathy, for his 
life was in a sphere above them ; and hence, while all 
admired the preacher, all were not nourished by the 
preaching. And hence, also, while he fully pos- 
sessed the confidence and respect of those who 
complained that he was too profound for their com- 
prehension, he was not as universally beloved as 
some of his predecessors had been. The grand 
force of his ministry, however, was not broken by 
this one abatement: it was ultimately successful. 
But I will not anticipate. 

Our Church and congregation presented at this 
time, as previously mentioned, a novel aspect. Al- 
most every variety of social and intellectual devel- 
opment was there represented. By the learned and 
thoughtful professor sat the browned and toiling la- 
borer. Thriving merchant, far-famed jurist, skilled 
physician, and independent mechanic, pressed to 
the front seats, and listened with equal interest. 
On the ladies' side — for the men and women sat 
apart — style and polish in manner and attire mixed 
with homely simplicity. A common faith and a 
common purpose brought these extremes together 
around our common altar. Sister Baughn, in her 
faded "best," did not hesitate to crowd in by Sister 
Ticknor, in her glossy new silk; and good old 
Aunt Ruthie, in home-spun and sun-bonnet, was 
not abashed by the more showy drapery of Sister 
Gliddon. If these women had enjoyed less relig- 
ion, they would have felt more restraint in each 
other's presence. Nothing but the assimilating 
power of religion — "the unity of the Spirit" — 



118 Our Church in Sandburg. 



could have blended such dissimilar elements into 
such harmonious oneness. In this respect our Zion 
was beautiful. 

He was a wise man who said that there is but a 
step from the sublime to the ridiculous. There was 
a serio-comic act in the drama of that day, which I 
must introduce, in its proper place, upon the stage. 
The opening of the school, attended by the domes- 
tication of a learned faculty and an influx of stu- 
dents, introduced new social elements, and partially 
revolutionized society. Many good and worthy cit- 
izens — none the less acceptable to God for being 
unlearned — conceived an erroneous view of literary 
life, and imagined that all their intercourse with the 
school-people must be carried on in a strained and 
pompous style, suited to what they supposed to be 
the mode of thought and speech among literary 
men. Hence came many laughable blunders — 
"leaping at the stars and falling in the mud" — 
until the quick experience of a closer intercourse 
dispelled the painful delusion. For example: 
Brother Lawne, local preacher, an excellent man 
and reputable minister, moved to town to keep a 
boarding-house for students. Though not a clas- 
sical man, he aspired to reputation as a scholar, and 
made a pass, now and then, at a Latin phrase. One 
of these attempts provoked such an uncontrollable 
laugh as to cure his unwise itch for classical fame. 
Having heard the phrase, lapsus linguce, and ascer- 
tained that it meant "a slip of the tongue," he 
attempted, one day at his dinner-table, to apologize 
for an awkward expression, by declaring it a flajpsy 



Our Church in Sandburg. 119 



lingurn. We had, too, a bachelor merchant, Brother 
Cowen, more remarkable for his long neck and high 
collar than for scholastic attainments, who supposed 
that he must "talk war in the presence of Hani- 
bal." A student called for "The Last Days of 
Pompeii." Brother Cowen politely handed down 
the book, remarking, as he did so, "This man 
Pompey must have been a mighty smart man, to 
have wrote this book in his last days." This per- 
verted opinion about school-life came near crop- 
ping out seriously in one case. A plain, working 
man got very mad with one of the professors for a 
jestingly familiar remark. He immediately as- 
sumed a hostile attitude, clenched his fist, and 
replied, " See here now, you jest stop that. One 
of my own sort may joke me as much as he pleases, 
but no talented man like you shall do it." 

One more case will sufficiently illustrate the pain- 
ful tension to which this singular view of school- 
life had drawn some of the uneducated. A pro- 
fessor had occasion to call on Brother Crosstie, in 
the suburbs. Brother C.,with an open book in his 
hand, met the professor between the gate and por- 
tico. "You seem to be quite literary this morn- 
ing," said the professor. "Yes, I'm fond of reading 
aunshent history," replied Crosstie, "it gives a man 
a foresight into what has been going on in the 
world." "What book are you reading?" asked the 
school-man, suppressing his rising smile. "I'm 
reading," responded Crosstie, "the Life of Joseph 
Pine, and he certingly were the greatest man I ever 
Learn of." The professor, whose curiosity was 



120 Our Church in Sandburg. 



aroused by this introduction to a newly-discovered 
hero, took the book and looked at the title-page: 
it was " The Life of Josephine." 

The same mania for the literary usus loquendi 
possessed the ladies, though with less intensity 
than in the more ambitious sex. But after discov- 
ering that their efforts were necessarily blunders — 
that they made Jupiter slay the lion, and Hercules 
launch thunderbolts — they abandoned the field in 
despair — some of them with creditable disgust. 

I mentioned, above, the ludicrous mistake of 
Brother Lawne. The best of men do foolish things 
sometimes. Brother Lawne was not, it is true, a 
man of deep learning, but he was a Christian of 
deep piety — he had a small stock of scholarship, 
but a large stock of sense. "When occasion 
placed him in the pulpit, he was pointed and 
impressive, for there he handled themes of which 
he was master, in language of which he knew the 
meaning, and showed himself "a workman that 
needed not to be ashamed." He was an appreciable 
addition to the working;- strength of the Church, 
being accepted by all classes as an authority in prac- 
tical and experimental religion. Men of superior 
learning respected his merits, and students who 
laughed at his blunders in Latin, wept under his 
appeals in English. 

Under Dr. Godfrey's leadership our Sunday- 
school improved in numbers and efficiency. It 
became a power in itself — was not so much a field 
of Church-work as a fellow-helper of the Church 
in field-work. A Bible-class of young men, most 



Our Church in Sandburg. 121 



of them candidates for the ministry — all of them 
candidates for honorable positions in their genera- 
tion — is specially memorable for proficiency in scrip- 
tural studies. Their teacher was a layman, a pro- 
fessor in the school, a man of varied learning, and 
of unaffected piety. I have gazed with admiration 
at the reverent earnestness with which he would 
answer questions, impart information, stimulate in- 
quiry, and magnify the Scriptures before his class. 
He entered the ministry himself, several years after 
this, but died after a very short career as a preacher. 
He closed a noble Christian life by a peaceful Chris- 
tian death. Several young men of this class, doubt- 
less stimulated to effort by his faithful instructions, 
became men of mark in the Church. Thus the 
Sandburg brotherhood, uniting their evangelizing 
labors with the mind-developing work of the school, 
became a fountain of refreshing influence, ever 
springing, never stagnating, but sending forth 
streams of living waters to other regions and com- 
ing days. , 

The year of Dr. Godfrey's pastorate was nearly 
spent. His ministry was popular and profitable. 
There was a general desire, and it was freely ex- 
pressed, to have him back again. But what about 
his support? He had a growing family — had kept 
house this year — had been poorly paid — (a singular 
fact, considering his popularity) — had drawn upon 
his private resources for a living — could not serve 
the station another year on this plan. The fact that 
his allowance had not been paid had been strangely 
overlooked by the stewards. They were mortified — 
6 



122 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



they were aroused. Brother Talbot declared it was 
a shame; Brother Hall said the disgrace must be 
wiped off; Brother Gliddon affirmed that while 
our ministry was fully equal to that of any other 
denomination, Our Church was behind all others in 
sustaining their ministers, and added, "We must 
have Brother Godfrey another year : we must pay 
every cent of his claims, and make a liberal allow- 
ance for table expenses." Enough was immediately 
subscribed to pay up the old deficit, and to provide 
amply for all expenses the coming year. The Doc- 
tor departed for Conference highly gratified, not so 
much that his temporal wants were met, as that his 
charge " esteemed him highly in love for his work's 
sake." The wishes of the people were regarded, 
and he was returned to Sandburg Station. A 
Bishop never made a wiser appointment. 

The current of Church-life ran on in the usual 
channel. Dr. Gr.'s sermons were able, polished, 
weighty; prayer-meetings were full and lively; 
class-meetings were considered means of. grace 
which no Christian could afford to neglect; Sun- 
day-school flourished, and specially the Bible-class 
was prosperous in studies and results. This was the 
surface appearance : to all human eyes, it seemed to 
be such a time as the hymn recalls: 

Surely once thy garden flourished, 
Every plant looked gay and green. 

If there was any "root of bitterness," its upspring- 
ing was choked by the more vigorous plants of 
grace. If there was in the way of prosperity any 



Our Church in Sandburg. 123 



stumbling-block, it was so small as not to check the 
wheels of Zion's car. The pastor and official breth- 
ren, keeping vigilant watch on all departments, de- 
tected a case or two of backsliding. One case re- 
quired removal of the offender; the other yielded 
to reproof and entreaty, and was saved. 

Toward the close of summer the fruits of Dr. 
Godfrey's labors began to mature. A glorious re- 
vival, commencing without extra effort, continued 
day and night for about two w^eeks. It was deep 
and melting, rather than noisy — no extravagance, 
such as often mars the beauty of revivals, inter- 
rupted our regular, yet almost resistless, advances 
upon the kingdom of darkness. True, Aunt Euthie 
would, at unseasonable times, get oft* on her solo — 
"Where, now, is meek old Moses" — and Sister 
Phipps would bawl too loud in prayer, and bang 
the mourners too hard while talking to them; but 
we had learned to bear with these little evils, and to 
wink at them as eccentric manifestations of really 
upright endeavors. We treated them like a dis- 
tinguished Baptist minister did an untimely dis- 
course on immersion, delivered by a young brother 
at a union meeting: said he, "Let us put the young 
brother's sermon in a parenthesis, and go on with 
the work of the Lord." Dr. Godfrey was gifted in 
managing a revival — a gift not always joined with 
superior ability in the pulpit. With him, it seemed 
a natural and easy transition from the overpowering 
eloquence of the pulpit to the song, and prayer, and 
shout of the altar. 

One night, after mourners were called, and many 



124 Our Church in Sandburg. 



had gone to the altar, I went to a young friend in 
the congregation for whose salvation I felt a deep 
concern. He looked serious, and his friends had 
strong hopes that he would make the wise choice, 
and begin to seek religion. I asked him, " Luther, 
will you go to the altar, and give your heart to the 
Saviour? " He answered roughly, " No ! " I turned 
away in sad disappointment, and began to talk to 
the mourners. Presently I heard, from the aisle 
near the altar, a wail of despair such as seldom 
pierces mortal ears. It was my friend Luther, pros- 
trate in the aisle, deploring his lost condition. I 
fell down by him, and begged him to look to Jesus, 
and hope in his mercy; but he said, "IsTo, it's all 
over with me — when I replied angrily to your 
friendly request, just now, I felt the Spirit of God 
leave me, and I know I am doomed forever." After 
some judicious instruction by experienced brethren, 
he began to pray for mercy, and was powerfully con- 
verted. 

On another evening a scene of still more exciting 
interest occurred. Judge House, one of the first 
jurists of the day, a man in the prime of life, who 
had hitherto seemed wholly indifferent to religion, 
if not skeptical as to its divine authority, had been 
for some time a regular attendant at our services, 
bringing his family, and acting with becoming 
gravity. On the evening alluded to, when the ser- 
mon was closed, and mourners were invited, the 
Judge rose up, walked deliberately forward, and 
bowed down in an humble posture at the altar. 
The people knew that nothing but the force of 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



125 



truth could convince such a mind — that nothing but 
the power of God could humble such a sinner. Sev- 
eral of his family followed the father's example. 
They were all received into fellowship, a few days 
after this, happy in the saving grace of Christ. 
This was a great victory, for Judge House and his 
family had been leaders in high-life iniquity, and 
their conversion made a ruinous breach in the ranks 
of the enemy. But what affected us in this scene 
more than any other feature, was the interest taken 
in the Judge's case by a poor neighbor — a pious 
but thriftless tailor — who wept over him, prayed for 
him, instructed, and then rejoiced with him. There 
knelt the great jurist, learned in the laws of men, 
but ignorant of the "law of life in Christ Jesus," 
eagerly listening to words of hope and encourage- 
ment from one whose social position, whose limited 
attainments, and whose religious profession he had 
hitherto despised. 

Yery different, sadly different, was the case of Col. 
Eainer. He was a thrifty farmer, w T hose fertile lands 
bordered on one side of Sandburg. He had lived 
chiefly for himself, did not fear God, and had little 
regard for man. On this occasion, curiosity brought 
him out, and he attended several meetings. One 
Sunday he was powerfully moved, trembled vio- 
lently, and tears ran freely down his hard face. 
Christian neighbors saw how he was affected, and 
prayed that he might yield and be saved. Dr. 
Godfrey noticed his condition, and went to him, 
and solemnly besought him to obey the dictates of 
his conscience, and seek the salvation of his soul. 



126 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



He seemed to rally all his strength for one des- 
perate resistance, shook his head, and replied to 
Dr. a., "iN T ot to-day," and left the church. It 
was his last attendance at public worship. One 
of the old brethren said, sorrowfully, "He will 
never feel that way again." He died soon after- 
ward, in a drunken stupor. 

The fruits of this gracious season were gathered 
into the garner of the Lord, a rich harvest of prec- 
ious sheaves. The old, the young, the lady, the 
gentleman, knelt at the altar, and took upon them 
the vows of consecration with the waters of holy 
baptism. 

A few months after the revival closed, there oc- 
curred a remarkable conversion. Mr. Dupont, a 
prosperous merchant of Sandburg, moral in his 
habits, and honorable in business, but not relig- 
ious, had been seriously concerned about his soul, 
but for some reason had not been up to the altar. 
He was still seeking peace, but as yet had not 
found it. One Sunday afternoon, as he was re- 
turning from the country, his horse took fright, 
and dashed off with the buggy down a steep and 
rocky MIL Mr. Dupont, after trying in vain to 
check the furious animal, finally gave up the 
effort, and yielded to what seemed to be his inev- 
itable fate. But while thus dashing down the 
steep, he mentally reviewed his life, renewed his 
petition for mercy, and said to himself, "If I am 
killed, I will die trusting my soul to Jesus — surely 
he will not let me be lost, for I look to him alone 
for salvation." Soon the horse was down the hill, 



Our Church in Sandburg. 127 



and, in ascending the opposite slope, became more 
manageable, and finally submitted to the reins. Mr. 
Dupont, finding himself out of danger, began to re- 
flect on his condition. A feeling of tranquil peace, 
before unknown, pervaded his heart. It was a holy 
peace — it was divine joy. He hastened to tell Dr. 
Godfrey, and other friends, how strangely the Lord 
had brought him to a knowledge of pardoning mercy. 

Our fourth quarterly meeting was a glorious and 
memorable season. Three promising young men 
were licensed to preach, and believers were " built 
up on their most holy faith." Indeed, all our quar- 
terly meetings this year were times of refreshing, 
for our Presiding Elder was a man of fine talents, 
and of a gentle, sweet spirit, and wielded a happy 
influence everywhere by his devout ^gmpej and 
pure example. In early life he was a blacksmith, 
and a wicked, dissipated sinner. "When soundly 
converted at a camp-meeting, he began to study 
books, and exercise his gifts in prayer and exhorta- 
tion ; he was soon admitted into the traveling connec- 
tion, rose rapidly and regularly into high position, 
and, at the time now under notice, was one of "the 
fathers" — a man of repute and power in the Con- 
ference. His visitations to Sandburg were times of 
joy and profit. 3sTot even the accomplished Dr. 
Godfrey could draw a larger congregation, or more 
deeply move their hearts than our venerable Elder. 
His name is not given, for a reason : I believe it was 
written in the "Lamb's book of life," and that he 
now enjoys the reward of a holy life and faithful 
ministry, in heaven. 



128 Our Church in Sandburg. 



CHAPTER XII. 



Eleventh and twelfth years — Home mission work — Good 
results — Brother Li skew, our new preacher — Does better 
than appearances — Keaction, after tension — Christmas 
frolics — A proud woman makes trouble — What is to be 
done ? — Turn her out !— Religion in high life — Temptation 
and flight — Brilliant example — Brother Liskew's second 
year — Bigotry crops out — Negro -traders — Sandburg grows 
— Line of stage-coaches — Sins of civilization. 

T3EFORE introducing our next stationed 



J— ^ preacher, I must bring up the record in one 
or two particulars. Our Church, after its recent 
growth in membership, began to extend its labors 
to " regions beyond." There were three neighbor- 
hoods within a distance of six or seven miles from 
Sandburg, which, by reason of their peculiar posi- 
tion, could not conveniently be served by the circuit 
preachers. Two of these were geographically iso- 
lated, and, therefore, had been neglected; and the 
other was a region of poor hills, thickly settled 
by poor people, among whom there was very little 
religious knowledge. These places were regarded 
as missionary ground; and being rich in working 
resources, we undertook to cultivate them. We 
commenced by organizing Sunday-schools, and 
holding prayer-meetings. Erelong we had three 




Our Church in Sandburg. 129 



flourishing schools, well supplied with books, and 
regularly attended by teachers from town. After 
awhile appointments were made for preaching by 
the candidates for the ministry, who were students 
in school. Reports from these outposts, relating 
remarkable incidents, number of conversions, ob- 
stacles encountered and removed, afforded most 
entertaining features at our Sunday-school anni- 
versaries for several years. 

About this time there was a general awakening 
on the subject of temperance. Drunkenness was 
on the increase, and its many and terrible evils were 
sources of alarm to the Christian and patriot. Our 
Church, always prompt in good enterprises, took a 
leading interest in this. Several meetings were 
held in our house of worship, at which strong and 
stirring addresses were delivered. For a time, 
great good was accomplished by these efforts. The 
young men of the town — many of them, at least — 
gave their names and influence to the cause, and 
some who were fast verging into the fatal and hope- 
less entanglement, abjured strong drink, and be- 
came useful members of society. We had great 
cause of rejoicing in this good result. 

In the midst of these events, came our new 
preacher, the Eev. W. H. Liskew. He was an un- 
married man, and the youngest pastor we had had. 
But he was grave, sober, discreet, and the appoint- 
ment was considered a very safe one. In those days 
— and the same may, perhaps, be true yet — the 
Bishop could not send the right man to the right 
place every time. There were more places than 
6* 



130 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



men, and Sandburg must take its chances with 
others. Brother Liskew's personal appearance, 
though pleasing enough, was not impressive. His 
form lacked symmetry and grace, his arms were 
unusually long, his shoulders a little stooped, but 
his mild and benevolent expression imparted to his 
whole aspect a sort of dignity which disarmed crit- 
icism and counterbalanced his awkwardness. In 
the pulpit he made no pretensions to oratory — in 
fact, rather seemed to avoid suspicion of aspiring 
to that gift. His style was as plain, simple, and 
free from ornament as the Epistles of St. John. 
Never was there a more striking contrast between 
two men than that between Brother Liskew and 
his predecessor, Dr. Godfrey. That fact was favor- 
able to the young man's popularity; for when the 
people discovered that he made no effort to imitate 
his superiors, that he was content to be simply 
himself, and to preach according to his ability, they 
admired his candor, and esteemed him all the more 
highly. An industrious pastor, a safe counselor, 
a worthy exemplar, a pleasant if not a brilliant 
companion, we had in our young pastor for this 
and the succeeding year. He gained and retained 
the confidence of the congregation; his sermons 
were always instructive, if not very inspiring; and 
though he did not enlarge the Church by aggressive 
victories, he did consolidate and build up its mem- 
bers by sound doctrine and wholesome discipline ; 
so that, when he closed his second year's labors, if 
he had no grand triumphs to record, he had no 
hurtful errors to lament. 



Our Church in Sandburg. 131 



After tlie tide comes the ebb. Reaction invari- 
ably follows a long-sustained excitement, and one 
of the most difficult tasks in pastoral administra- 
tion is the management of a station in one of these 
reaction seasons. In grand onward movements, 
the preacher's whole soul may be thrown into the 
shout, " Forward, brothers!" But after battle and 
victory, when rest and reflection should keep good 
soldiers from straggling, it requires rare skill to 
guard the lines so as to prevent desertion. Unfor- 
tunately, our communion was not exempt from this 
tendency to reaction. Trouble came upon us about 
the first Christmas of Brother Liskew's pastorship. 
It was the old trouble, growing out of worldly 
amusements. The hardest lesson for young Chris- 
tians to learn is, that they are not of the world, 
though in it. 

The old members, who had fought and conquered 
in the conflict about dancing, some years before, 
grieved to see the battle renewed by the enemy 
with greater vigor and determination than before. 
One case, because of certain peculiarities, became a 
test case, and both parties silently watched its de- 
velopments, as if agreed to let this one decide all 
others. This case has a short history, which con- 
tains both novelty and instruction. 

Some nineteen years before, Captain Wheat, a 
wealthy bachelor planter, had married a dashing 
young woman, his inferior in social position, but of 
rare personal beauty. She was uneducated, except 
in the simplest rudiments, but being possessed of a 
quick and penetrating mind, she was conscious of 



132 Our Church in Saitoburg. 



her power, watched her opportunity, and captured 
the wealthy planter. Thus suddenly elevated to 
position by Captain Wheat's riches, she affected 
style, assumed aristocratic airs, behaved patron- 
izingly toward her former associates, dressed mag- 
nificently, and thrust herself into the best society. 
There she was treated as an equal, to her face, be- 
cause of her husband's solid worth in business cir- 
cles, but was laughed at, behind her back, because 
of her own vulgar ignorance. In course of time 
she joined Our Church, which step the Captain ap- 
proved, not that he cared for religion, but because 
it was considered respectable. Sister Wheat was a 
working member in our sisterhood. In all matters 
of interest, except in humility and meekness, she 
was — as Sallust says of Jugurtha in the chase — 
"the first, or among the first." Where time, talk, 
and money would accomplish an object, she was con- 
spicuously useful. Her oldest daughter, Teresa, a 
comely but weak-minded girl, now in her teens, had 
professed religion in our last revival, and united 
with Our Church. But the mother was more am- 
bitious of Teresa's promotion in society than in 
spiritual things, and the class of people who made 
the grandest display, she chose to consider the 
highest class. Teresa must not decline the atten- 
tions of a wealthy suitor, no matter what his morals 
were ; she must accept the card of a high-life beau, 
even to attend a dancing-party. Was it not respect- 
able? was it not fashionable? Did not the Tinnins, 
the Shapards, the Jacksons, all their associates, go 
to balls, and were they not the ton of the country? 



Our Church in Sandburg. 133 



How could there be any wrong in such amusements, 
when the very first families in and around Sand- 
burg patronized them? No, no! Teresa must 
maintain her position in society, the protests of 
the preacher notwithstanding. 

Now, what is to be done ? Here was one of our 
richest and most active members, sustaining her 
daughter in braving Church opinion and violating 
Church rule. The case was met firmly — delay or 
hesitation would have been fatal. The pastor 
called; Teresa was not at home, but he told her 
parents the object of his coming, and explained to 
them his painful duty in the case. Captain "Wheat 
replied, "I am not a member of your Church, Par- 
son, and know nothing about religion, but it seems 
to me that when people belong to the Church, they 
ought to obey its rules, and if they break the rules, 
they ought to be turned out. Go on, and do your 
duty with Teresa, for if she has violated your rules, 
she has no business in the Church." Well said, for 
a plain old sinner. But not so said Madam Wheat. 
She desired the respectability of membership, and 
yet could not afford to abandon the gay world; so 
she entered upon a vigorous defense of herself and 
daughter. She asserted the innocency of dancing, 
pleaded the high social station of those who prac- 
ticed it, and closed her tirade by saying, "And, be- 
side all this, there was a carpet on the floor, and I 
have always heard that there was no sin in dancing 
on a carpet." The pastor failed to see the neutral- 
izing effect of a carpet, and so he distinctly stated 
to the indignant woman that the voice of the Chris- 



184 Our Church in Sandburg. 

tian world was against this practice — that those who 
indulged in it must acknowledge their error and 
pledge amendment, or be cut off from fellowship. 
This last alternative the delinquent accepted — the 
mother went out with her, disgusted at the stupid 
pastor and brethren who would not permit their 
members to have "a little innocent amusement." 
The recusants soon found an open door into a less 
scrupulous communion, where they were reclothed 
with the externals of religion, quite to their own 
satisfaction, and greatly to our relief ; but whether 
to the profit of their own souls or not, let "that 
day" reveal. Thus ended again the disturbance 
about dancing — the most insidious snare the devil 
ever spreads for young Christians. Other offend- 
ers confessed their error, and were restored to fel- 
lowship. 

"We had, at this time, a number of active and 
zealous workers, of a class from whom very marked 
devotion is not usually expected. These were young 
ladies who had professed religion in our last revival. 
One of these, who had been a leader in gay and fash- 
ionable life, was sadly missed by her former asso- 
ciates, and was constantly solicited to return to the 
life she had renounced. On one occasion she ac- 
cepted an invitation to a party on the assurance 
that it was simply a conversational reunion, and 
that there was to be no dancing. Soon after the 
company gathered, she discovered that a deception 
had been practiced upon her — that preparations 
were made for a ball. "When the violin broke forth 
with its bewitching music, and couples began to 



Our Church in Sandburg. 135 



take their places on the floor, she felt for an instant 
all the fascinations of the hour; but realizing the 
baseness of the falsehood which had thus led her 
into temptation, she indignantly left the room, ran 
to the house of a Christian lady near by, and asked 
for a protector back to her own home. This signal 
rebuke to the treachery of pretended friends gave 
such strength to her position as a follower of Christ, 
that she was no more tempted in this way to re- 
nounce her profession. That one act of heroic 
firmness, displaying so nobly, and yet so modestly, 
the true spirit of martyrdom, made a deep impres- 
sion on many hearts. The devoted young lady 
died, a few years afterward, in the full joy and peace 
of the Christian faith. 

The most conspicuous and influential of this 
class was Miss Mary "Warner, a young lady of ex- 
traordinary endowments of person and of mind. 
Comely, graceful, frank, and unselfish in disposition, 
educated in the best seminary of the State, and pol- 
ished by the influences of a refined and elegant 
home, she had the world all before her in which 
to choose her career, and reign as a queen in her 
circle. Like her illustrious namesake of Bethany, 
she chose "that good part" — a place at her Saviour's 
feet, where she might hear his words and learn his 
will. When she gave her hand to the Church, that 
act sealed her heart and life in irrevocable consecra- 
tion. To the poor she ministered with pious liber- 
ality. At the sick-bed of the wretched she was a 
constant and tender nurse, while the Sunday-school 
and prayer and class-meetings always found her at 



136 



Our Church in Saxdburg. 



the post of duty. This exhibition of the meek, 
gentle, and active spirit of Christ by one who was 
fitted to shine in courtly circles, one who was sought 
as a leader in literary society, so brilliant in intel- 
lect, so gifted in conversation, so charming in man- 
ners, could not fail to impress the community, and 
force even scoffers to confess the unearthly beauty 
of religion. She yet lives, in a distant city, a lovely 
matron, the cheerful companion of an itinerant's 
labors, an ornament to society, a faithful " mother 
in Israel." 

It must not be inferred that our young-lady mem- 
bers were not at other times valuable and useful. 
It is simply meant that, previously to this date, this 
element of strength had not been as large and pow- 
erful as now, and that at a time when a vigorous 
effort was made by the world to claim and array on 
their side the beauty and intelligence of Sandburg, 
Our Church was sustained by several of the noblest 
models of womanhood. 

During Brother Liskew's second year, we were 
more troubled in our relations with other denomi- 
nations than we had formerly been. The prose- 
lyting establishment stood ready to offer a safe 
passage, and a through ticket, stamped with apos- 
tolic die and perfumed with hereditary grace, to all 
who sighed for an easier road to glory than Meth- 
odism could offer. The industrious leader of that 
cause " overthrew the faith of some" of our restless 
brethren, and carried them over into his fold. 

The Presbyterians had changed pastors some 
time ago. In the place so long adorned by the 



Our Church in Sandburg. 137 



gentlemanly and evangelical Dr. Gracey, came a 
bigoted, unsocial sectarian, who wished it distinctly 
understood that he was always right, and all who 
differed from him were necessarily wrong. The 
cordial fellowship, hitherto existing between them 
and us, was estranged ; and had not several of his 
members discountenanced his unseemly ways, our 
relations would have become avowedly antagonistic. 
It is proper to say that the popular sentiment — or 
rather, I should say, the Christian charity — of his 
people was not at all in sympathy with his churlish 
temper, and he was compelled to hide his asperities 
under an improved exterior. However, some injury 
was done, as is always the case when the professed 
ministers of Christ do not show his meek and gentle 
temper. This burly man, Rev. Mr. Coltart, went 
wholly down in public esteem, and, later in life, 
gave up the ministry. 

There was, this year, another trouble, from a dif- 
ferent cause — one which gave no little sorrow to the 
Church. Two of the brethren, both of them stew- 
ards, having become involved in financial difficul- 
ties, imagined that the shortest and surest way to 
mend their fortunes was to engage in buying and 
selling slaves.. This business was called "negro- 
trading," and was not then, and never was, so far 
as I know, in this part of the great South, consid- 
ered compatible with Christian character. It was a 
thing entirely different from owning slaves. The 
pastor, Presiding Elder, and other brethren, remon- 
strated, implored, and besought them to abandon 
their project; but there were a few who claimed to 



138 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



see no more harm in the traffic than there was in 
owning negroes, and the two brethren embarked in 
the business. They claimed to be humane in the 
business, would not separate husband and wife, or 
take young children from their parents; and as 
there was no positive law to forbid them, they went 
forward in their trade, still holding membership, 
but not official rank, in the Church. I am not 
a fanatic on the old and troublesome question 
of slavery, but confess that that transaction was 
a great scandal to Christianity. Providence seemed 
to frown on it. One of these men died, a few years 
after this, somewhat improved in his finances, but 
in an unhappy state of mind; the other became 
a drunkard, and an openly profane sinner. 

Sandburg has more than doubled its popula- 
tion since this narrative began, and Our Church 
numbered, at the close of this year, nearly two 
hundred members. A tri-weekly line of mail- 
coaches brought us into closer connection with 
the thought and commerce of the day. The post- 
boy had given place to the stage-driver. This im- 
provement in social and mercantile departments 
was accompanied by certain evils — such as invaria- 
bly follow advances in civilization when there is not 
a corresponding progress in religious sentiment. 
"The polished arts" are said by the poet to have 
"humanized mankind." We accept the saying, 
but still insist that the arts of civilization are 
of real and permanent benefit to a people only 
so far as they are limited and guided by true re- 
ligion. They only raise a rough sinner to the 



Our Church in Sandburg. 139 



higher grade of an accomplished sinner. So 
we found with those citizens of Sandburg who 
adopted and cultivated every new mode and 
means of improvement, except the religion of 
Christ. 



140 Our Church in Sandburg. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



Thirteenth year — Brother Gilliam — A pleasing, bookish, 
working preacher — Change of times — Church out of date — 
Must builcl a new and larger — God must have the best — 
The sisters lend aid — About fairs, suppers, and concerts — 
A liberal soul — Built and dedicated — Changes — Brother 
Hall sleeps in Jesus — Brother Ticknor forsakes us — Their 
places filled — Two dissimilar officers — Brother Lawne 
moves away — His place filled — Brother Grumbles wants 
" to make the contempt" to preach — Brother Gilliam mar- 



THIS chapter is a budget of items. It relates a 
year's transactions in occurrences seemingly 
unconnected with the thread of our history; but 
these will be found, in the aggregate, to have been 
influential on our near and remote future. I have 
watched the course of a river, gliding majestically 
along, as if no obstacle of hill, or rock, or drift- 
wood could check its onward flow; then I have 
seen it drag its tardy current through the plain, 
winding and doubling back upon its length, eddy- 
ing in stagnant bays, and spreading into marshy 
fens, till, seeming to awake to a consciousness of 
delay, it renewed its strength, gathered its scattered 
waters into one grand swell, and rolled onward in 
its sublime career. Thus has it been — it is — it will 
be — with the course of Our Church. 



ries. 




Our Church in Sandburg. 141 



Our pastor is the Kev. Justin Gilliam, a widower 
of about forty-five, fat, ruddy, with wig and spec- 
tacles for himself, and smiles and kind words for 
others— a delightfully pleasant gentleman in pri- 
vate, a very agreeable speaker in public. He had 
read many books, and digested them well, was au- 
thority in history and chronology, and very skillful 
in argument. In our pulpit he was " master of the 
situation," at which his brethren rejoiced, while the 
foes of our cause confessed it, and kept silence. He 
had a cultivated eye for whatever is conducive to 
order, and a fine taste for esthetics in public wor- 
ship. This peculiar talent soon got into active ex- 
ercise, and put the people to work, also, in good 
earnest. 

Times had changed wonderfully in the last thir- 
teen years. Society had advanced, and people be- 
gan to say — what their posterity has said a thousand 
times in later years — "This is a progressive age." 
The house in which we worshiped was growing old- 
fashioned — every modern improvement about town 
made it look more antiquated. Besides, it was too 
small for our present and prospective demands. It 
had been repaired as often and kept in order as long 
as judgment could approve or affection for the dear 
place could require: now, why not build a new 
house for the Lord? Brother Gilliam had scarcely 
asked the question before it was answered. Every- 
body was for the enterprise. Outsiders approved, 
and promised to aid it. So, then, with confidence 
that "ways and means" could be provided — of 
course, making allowance for the hindrances insep- 



142 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



arable from such undertakings — the pastor and 
brethren addressed themselves to the work. 

A new location was as necessary as a new house. 
The old building used to be central, but the town 
had grown away from it on one side: it was evident 
that we must move farther up town. There was 
something better than "pride of life," something 
better than good taste, in this decision — there was 
religion in it; for a church -building ought always 
to occupy the most eligible position and the pret- 
tiest lot in town or city. The builders honor God 
by dedicating to him the best place. 

Now, our Brother James Simson owned a num- 
ber of town-lots. One whole square, a beautiful 
situation, he had reserved, hitherto, waiting for 
property to rise in value: this he gave to the 
Church, saying, "This is Methodist Square — build 
upon it a house for the Lord." This was a grand 
and pious generosity, but it brought a pause in pro- 
ceedings. The conspicuous location made it neces- 
sary to erect a finer edifice than was at first intended. 
It must cost, at least, fifteen thousand dollars; but 
the work must be done — and it was done. 

Building committee, subscription papers, collect- 
ors, and whatever usually enters into the prepara- 
tory measures in such cases, were duly appointed. 
The sisterhood took a lively interest in the work, 
and sought plans to help it forward. The question 
as to how they could raise money, brought up a sift- 
ing discussion of fairs, concerts, suppers, etc. Some 
few could see no harm in any of these means. For 
instance, one good sister asked, " Who could object 



Our Church in Sandburg. 143 



to a fair — the most likely measure to make much 
out of little — when the money is all for the Church ? 
We can get up our articles in showy style, at very 
little cost — will charge one dollar admittance-fee, 
and when we get the crowd in there, we can man- 
age to get four or five dollars out of every one." 
An unexpected remark about " doing evil, that good 
may come," made her blush, and spoiled her specious 
plan. It was, however, agreed that perhaps a con- 
cert might be held — that every one would know 
exactly what he was paying for, when he bought 
his ticket, and there could be no excitement, flat- 
tery, or competition to wring money from unwilling 
hands, as in a fair. The pastor did not fully indorse 
the plan, but as it seemed to be so popular, and the 
sisters seemed so anxious to contribute something, 
he withheld his objections, and let them go through 
with it. This, and a strawberry-supper afterward, 
brought several hundred dollars into the treasury. 
However, there were many who did not join in 
these measures, and several of our most pious sis- 
ters resorted to their needles — sewing machines 
were unknown in those days — to raise their contri- 
butions. The money obtained' by these means was 
a small rill compared to the larger streams that 
flowed into the reservoir. The amount secured was, 
after much working, hoping, despairing, and rally- 
ing again, sufficiently large to justify contract with 
builders — the bargain was made, and the work com- 
menced, pushed forward, completed. 

I must record one case of liberality. Col. War- 
ner — whose accomplished daughter is mentioned in 



144 Our Church in Sandburg. 



the preceding chapter- — had been, heretofore, pos- 
sessed of large wealth, but at the date now under 
notice, was dreadfully straitened by a series of heavy 
losses. But he gave, on the first subscription, five 
hundred dollars, and when the work was finished, 
and a considerable balance must be secured in order 
to dedicate the church free from debt, he relieved 
the embarrassment by giving another five hundred. 
He was a princely man, and a noble Christian. This 
was only one of many generous deeds prompted by 
his liberal soul: how many now in Sandburg re- 
member his munificence ? 

In an account of the dedication of our new and 
elegant temple, there would be nothing novel. It 
w r as a grand clay — the sermon was grand in gospel 
truth and in spiritual unction — there was grand 
congregational singing, the voices of the multitude 
were lifted up in lofty strains of worship — many a 
grateful tear fell from the eyes of those who had 
planned, and prayed, and labored, and given, in 
view of this day — the prayers were earnest appeals 
to God to accept and bless the house, and record 
his name there, and many hearty amens showed 
that the prayers uttered by one were the fervent 
petitions of all. We have reason to believe that 
our supplications were heard, as our subsequent his- 
tory will abundantly manifest. 

When things settled down into regular routine 
again, at an early day after the occupancy of our 
new house, certain changes occurred, in our official 
board. Brother Hall, venerable with years and be- 
loved for his virtues, so long had he been a leader 



Our Church in Sandburg. 145 



in every good word and work, " fell on sleep, and 
was gathered to his fathers." Another name dis- 
appeared from the roll in a sadly different way: 
Brother Ticknor "forsook ns, having loved this 
present world." The pastor had remonstrated 
against his wine-drinking, at home — his brethren 
had often and earnestly admonished him for neglect- 
ing class and prayer-meetings. But he had grown 
rich and proud, had formed social alliances which 
gratified his aspirations for stylish living and prom- 
inence in the community; so he rejected the counsel 
of his pastor, resented the admonitions of his breth- 
ren, and united with a more fashionable and worldly 
denomination. 

To fill these vacancies, two men, hitherto un- 
known in this narrative, were brought into promi- 
nence. Brother Masters, a merchant, was a rising 
man in Sandburg, energetic in business, and fervent 
in religion. A few years before, he had failed, was 
sold out of house and home, and gave up every ar- 
ticle of personal property— even taking the watch 
out of his pocket, and handing it to the officer who 
was selling his effects — to satisfy the demands of 
his creditors. Beginning business again, with no 
capital but character, he accumulated so rapidly as 
soon to regain his former status, and so continued, 
until, in a series of years, he became the largest 
capitalist in the country. This wonderful prosper- 
ity did not diminish his ardent piety — in the midst 
of growing and absorbing engagements, he found 
time to read, to attend social Church-meetings, and 
to discharge punctually his official duties. He was 
7 



146 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



a model citizen — an intelligent, well-informed, and 
sincerely devoted Christian — and soon evinced his 
fitness for the responsible office of steward by put- 
ting the finances of the Church in as sound a con- 
dition as his own. In fact, Brother Masters was a 
man of rare ability — his name was afterward known, 
and his influence felt, in the fiscal affairs of the 
State: it was acknowledged, not only in the finan- 
cial, but also in the spiritual, affairs of Our Church. 

Brother Robert J. Proffit, a retired teacher, now 
a farmer near town, was the other steward. He 
was a living enigma — a singular, eccentric man, 
uniting opposite traits of character in unintelligible 
combination. A native of Massachusetts, he spent 
all his income in purchasing slaves; a polished 
scholar, he used slang words and country idioms ; 
devoutly spiritual sometimes, he was offensively 
light and trivial at others; patriotic as a citizen 
and benevolent as a neighbor, he was exacting, if 
not cruel, to his servants; gentle and urbane in 
company, he was harsh and petulant in his family. 
I believe he was a good man — in a charitable sense, 
a good man : all good men are not perfect. But his 
influence was sadly divided — in some minds his 
goodness was questioned — what was bad in him 
fought against what was good, and often prevailed. 
He made money for himself, and attended to his 
official duties with seeming zeal and manifest lib- 
erality; but his children grew up worldly, sensual, 
godless — his house was not included in his religion. 
Perhaps the children saw so little of their father's 
piety that they were not inclined to follow a model 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



147 



so unsatisfactory. Like Eli, he served the Lord 
himself, or claimed to be doing so, and allowed his 
sons and daughters to serve the devil. 

We lost, this year, our good local preacher, Brother 
Lawne. He moved southward, seeking a better cot- 
ton region. He concluded that he could do more 
good raising cotton than keeping boarding-house — 
so he went away. We missed him — -all the people 
missed him— for he was a precious Christian, and 
an excellent preacher. His place, however, was 
soon filled by another local preacher, Brother James 
Thomas, who settled in Sandburg to edit and pub- 
lish a secular newspaper. His biography ought to 
be written : it contains a lesson for gospel ministers. 
I can sketch his career only so far as it was con- 
nected with the workings of our station. Politics 
did not aid Brother Thomas's spirituality. As he 
waxed warm in party zeal, he grew cold in the love 
of God. Providence did not seem to smile upon his 
employment — his enterprise failed, and he found 
himself poor, and getting poorer daily. His health 
broke down — his mind was harassed by visions of 
his own death, and of hopeless poverty for his fam- 
ily. A long and painful sickness brought him to 
the verge of the grave. On his bed of pain he cried 
to the Lord, asked for recovery that he might re- 
turn to the itinerancy, and promised his Master the 
remainder of his days. He recovered, kept his 
vow, and was, for many years, " a star of the first 
magnitude " in the galaxy of Methodism. 

In Our Church there was no respect of persons. 
No man was set up on high for what he possessed, 



148 



Our Church w Sandburg. 



but was esteemed for what he seemed to be. Fol- 
lowing this rule, we occasionally met with incidents 
more amusing than edifying. For instance, Brother 
Grumbles, a poor man, and apparently pious, had 
enjoyed the affections and good offices of the breth- 
ren. But he, at length, made known to the pastor 
that he felt it to be his duty to preach. To try his 
gifts, the pastor called upon him, one Sunday, to 
lead in prayer. The result did not advance the 
candidate's prospects at all, for, after beginning, "It 
is not for any thing worthy of Thy merit in us that 
we git down before Thee," and proceeding with 
equally meaningless jargon, he prayed that we all 
might "have a foretaste of the joys, that await the 
finally impenitent." Instead of the usual amen, 
Brother Gilliam said, "God forbid!" Brother 
Grumbles, though dissuaded by the brethren, de- 
clared that he "must preach, or, leastwise, make 
the contempt." They gave him license to exhort — 
for he was running over with zeal. Under this 
authority he would take a text and divide it at 
random, and propose to show what he termed its 
pints: "Now, I've told all about this pint, and am a 
gwine to pick up the next pint, which are" etc. 
This was more than Christian charity could bear; 
it was too heavy for the broad shoulders of Meth- 
odist opinion on qualifications for the ministry : we 
got rid of Brother Grumbles, by refusing him 
license, but he fought under another banner. 

The summing up of this year's work did not ex- 
hibit very large results. We held our own, barely, 
in numbers, gained somewhat in public opinion, 



Our Church in Sandburg. 149 



and were thus really more progressive than appear- 
ances indicated. Brother Gilliam paid more atten- 
tion to externals and preparations than to the more 
important and immediate ends of ministerial labor. 
Our new house did us much good, by attracting out- 
siders who appreciated order and propriety, but 
perhaps our worship was not as spiritual as it had 
been in the old one. There is some temptation to 
pride in a fine house, and Christians may indulge it 
to their hurt, considering, all the while, this subtle 
sentiment to be an emotion of piety. Time, use, 
and reflection, cured this evil. 

Before this year closed, our worthy pastor went 
back to his former station, and brought from thence 
" a helpmeet for him." He found there a Chris- 
tian woman of suitable age, of goodly culture, of 
devout piety, who was willing to share with him 
the vicissitudes of itinerant life. Everybody pro- 
nounced it a most judicious marriage, except one 
sister— a maiden lady of forty years — who suggested 
that Sandburg Station could have furnished Brother 
Gilliam with just as good a wife, and saved him the 
trouble and expense of going fifty miles to get one. 



150 Ouk Church in Sandburg. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Fg ..rteenth year — Conference in Sandburg — Perplexing priv- 
ilege — William Smith, station-preacher — "Who on earth is 
he?" — Discouragement — Comforted — Works and wins — 
Brother Broom's experience and zeal — A vision — Brother 
Foreman's weakness — The world turns — Preacher's wife 
helps him — Eevival — A concert — A failure — Sending forth 
laborers — Epidemic — First Psalms or Second Philip. 

THAT week in October, when Conference held 
its session in Sandburg, was a memorable 
week. Fair, mild autumnal clays, and bracing 
moonlight nights, contributed to the physical com- 
fort of preachers and people, and brought out 
throngs of eager listeners to hear the word of life. 
The most popular and beloved Bishop presided — 
visitors from contiguous Conferences were present, 
and added character to the occasion by platform and 
pulpit eloquence. But hundreds of like festivals, in 
as many places, have blessed the broad domain of 
Methodism: it is needless to d^vell on the trans- 
actions of this session. It was proper, however, to 
record the event as a gala-season in our local his- 
tory; for such a gathering of ministerial strength 
contributed largely to the growth and permanent 
establishment of Methodism. 

"When the last night arrived, and the Bishop was 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



151 



standing up to read out the appointments, expecta- 
tion was painfully intense, for there had been differ- 
ences of opinion among the brethren as to their 
choice of a preacher. Some wanted Brother Brown ; 
some strongly objected to him, and as earnestly pe- 
titioned for Brother Black; and another party for 
Brother White. The Bishop had said to the official 
members, "Let me know your choice, and you shall 
have him; if you cannot agree among yourselves, I 
must decide for you." This was very kind, but it 
augmented the trouble. The privilege of choosing 
their pastor, made every man more intent on having 
his favorite preacher, and but for the wise concession 
of power to the Bishops in Methodist economy, 
would have resulted in our getting no preacher at 
all. Knowing the confused and conflicting views 
of the brethren, the Bishop made the appointment 
without consulting any one as to its fitness. Disap- 
pointment, chagrin, almost dismay, played over the 
countenances of the members, when the Bishop an- 
nounced a name that none of them knew : " Sand- 
burg Station, "William Smith." "Who on earth is 
William Smith?" was asked by half-a-dozen at 
once. The Presiding Elder — a grave and prudent 
man — quieted their fears as well as he could ; but 
one of the preachers, with less prudence, made a 
remark that seriously blocked Brother Smith's way 
for some time: "No matter for you," said he, to 
some who were mourning over their disappoint- 
ment, "you would not agree on anyone till all the 
good preachers were disposed of ; now, you must put 
up with what you've got." This saying was spread 



152 Our Church in Sandburg. 



abroad in a short time, and fixed public opinion 
against Brother Smith in advance. No wonder 
that his reception at first was shy, cold, almost 
mortifying. But being entirely ignorant of the 
cause of this coldness, and being, also, wholly unac- 
quainted with, the citizens of Sandburg, he kept his 
thoughts to himself, prayed for strength and grace, 
and resolved to do the best he could. 

The new preacher was comparatively a young 
man — had been but a few years in Conference — had 
traveled circuits in parts of the territory most re- 
mote from his present field — knew nothing what- 
ever about station-preacher work — had very little 
confidence in his ability to go in and out acceptably 
before a people who had been served by many first- 
class preachers — and would have felt far less afflicted 
had his name been announced to " Post-Oak Cir- 
cuit." But, thank God for Christian cliarity, and 
thank God for Methodist flexibility! When we 
fully realized that Brother Smith was our preacher, 
we accepted him cordially, rallied around him unit- 
edly, and all heartily seconded the advice of old 
Sister Berry, who begged him not to be disincouraged: 
" Do n't be disincouraged, Brother Smith," said she; 
"we've had wuss preachers than you; and you jist 
go 'long and do your duty, and trust to the good 
Lord, and I'll be bound it '11 all work right." The 
preacher felt encouraged by this indorsement, and 
wisely concluded to take the old lad}"s counsel. 
"We shall see what came of it. 

Of course Brother Smith was not a great preacher, 
but he was a plain and earnest man, and made the 



Our Church in Sandburg. 153 



people listen to him, so that lie kept up the congre- 
gations. He visited the people, the poor and sick 
especially, and thus became popular, in spite of his 
quasi reputation as "not a good preacher." He 
nursed and increased the Sunday-school — prayer- 
meetings were more frequented — class-meetings 
were better attended — the Church really seemed 
as lively as if it had a "good preacher." Under his 
administration several vexatious cases of discipline 
occurred, which, as they form a large part of the 
year's items, had better be recorded here. A few 
words of preliminary explanation are necessary to 
understand the cases alluded to. 

A local preacher, of remarkable zeal and energy, 
had become connected with us by change of his 
place of membership. He was a Mr. Broom, a 
wealthy farmer in the neighborhood of town. His 
conversion, a short time anterior, was considered 
close akin to a miracle. He had been a very wicked 
man — in drinking, swearing, card-playing, and, in 
fact, in every known species of high-handed wick- 
edness, he had been a famous leader for many 
years. The idea of his ever becoming a Christian 
would have been pronounced insane a year ago. 
But he had become a professor of religion, and a 
local Methodist preacher. His conversion was most 
remarkable. It occurred at a time when there was 
no public interest or excitement on the subject of 
religion in his neighborhood. In fact, Mr. Broom 
never went to Church — never had any thing to do 
with it, except to curse it with a bitterness of 
hatred worthy of the archfiend himself. One day, 
7* 



154 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



at his country home, at the close of a long and ter- 
rible debauch, he saw the devil looking through the 
window at him, and mocking him with horrible 
grimaces. He rose immediately — for he was a 
fearless man — took his double-barreled shot-gun in 
hand, and fired through the window on his mock- 
ing visitor. He disappeared. Then Mr. Broom be- 
came unconscious of earthly things, and only knew 
that he was passing upward, through space, toward 
the heavenly world. Standing on those wonderful 
shores, he saw and talked with the Saviour of men. 
His description of this interview, and of the ap- 
pearance of the Saviour, was affecting beyond ex- 
pression. There was the glory of God, scarcely 
obscured by the humanity — the human, almost ex- 
alted to the divine — and features of such mildness, 
gentleness, goodness, and love, as would melt the 
hardest heart by one glance. To the Saviour he 
frankly and fully confessed his many and horrible 
sins — from those divine lips he received assurances 
of pardon, and directions as to his 'future course. 
The first and leading item in these directions was, 
that he should join the Methodists — a people whom 
he delighted to hate and curse — and spend the 
remainder of his days in working for them; another 
was, that he should make restitution in certain cases 
in which he had won large sums of money at the 
card-table, and also in one in which he had taken 
heavy usury. Mr. Broom was not slow in obeying 
these impressions, or directions, as he considered 
them. He made restitution in all the cases alluded 
to, giving as his reason for so doing, to the aston- 



Our Church in Sandburg. 155 

ishment of the other parties, that he had repented 
of his-sins, had obtained forgiveness, and had prom- 
ised the Lord to do this thing. His profession cre- 
ated a profound sensation. Many thought his vis- 
ions of the devil and of the heavenly world were 
only phenomena of mania a potu, and predicted a 
speedy return to old modes of living. Perhaps it 
was rnania, but he did not recede from his position 
— -joined the Church immediately, and devoted him- 
self most sedulously to the duties of religion. But 
perhaps the strangest part of this story is yet to be 
told: Some days after his profession, while passing 
around his field, he heard a sepulchral voice call his 
name. Looking in the direction of the sound, he 
saw the devil standing by a large stump in the 
field, and heard him say, " John Broom, you have 
escaped from my clutches, but I will get A. B., 
C. D., and E. F." — -naming three prominent citi- 
zens, his boon companions. Broom hastened to 
the house, mounted his horse, rode to each of these 
friends, stated to them what he had seen and heard, 
and implored them to change their mode of life. 
They were excited and dreadfully frightened for a 
season, but did not repent. Soon after this, A. B. 
disappeared, and no one knew his fate; C. D. died, 
not long after, of a congestive chill; and E. F. was 
killed in a drinking-saloon in town. The reader 
must draw his own conclusions from these facts. 

Now, Brother Broom coming into the Church 
with most intensely excited zeal, and glowing with 
convictions of the unearthly purity of the Christian 
name, received from his vision of our Saviour, im- 



156 Our Church in Sandburg. 



agined that the Lord's heritage ought to be forth- 
with purged from all defilement and corruption. 
He therefore brought charges against several mem- 
bers whose lives were open, perhaps, to objection. 
There was a Brother Doolittle, w T ho was slow to 
pay his debts, and often made promises that he 
could not meet — he was subjected to a rigorous 
prosecution, which resulted in his acquittal. The 
management of this case by the pastor displeased 
Brother Broom, and he became the uncompromis- 
ing opposer of the administration, from that time 
forth. This did some harm, for Broom was a good 
man, had proved his sincerity by his works, but his 
zeal ran off with his judgment. Several similar 
cases, resulting in like manner, greatly intensified 
his antipathy to the preacher. 

Another brother, quite a veteran in the ranks, 
fell out with Brother Smith, and curtailed his influ- 
ence with a certain class. This brother, Foreman 
by name, was a mechanic, and a very good one, too; 
he was a good man, also, as far as any one knew. 
But Foreman had his weaknesses — I have known 
several good people who had them. He was a good 
singer, and was often called on to pray. The new 
preacher, in ignorance of Brother Foreman's rights 
in the premises, had raised a few songs himself, and 
called on other members, with whom he happened 
to get acquainted at first, to lead in prayer at the 
Wednesday-night meetings. This was a mortal 
offense to Brother Foreman; his dignity was out- 
raged; his long-conceded prominence was ruth- 
lessly snatched away : he made bold to resent the 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



157 



injury, and exerted his influence, privately, to detract 
from the pastor's popularity. Poor human nature ! 

" Nevertheless, the world turns over," and the 
Church moves on. The preacher, accepting these 
troubles as a part of the perquisites of his position, 
quietly went forward, studying, and praying, and 
preaching, and visiting. His wife — I neglected to 
say before that he was a married man — aided him 
very much by nursing the sick, and providing with 
her own hands for the wants of the poor. This 
godly labor of hers called to mind the fruitful ef- 
forts of Sister Davidson — the first preacher's wife 
ever connected with the station — and those who re- 
membered and appreciated those good works, per- 
formed nine years before, rallied around Sister 
Smith, and followed her into several fields of useful- 
ness. So went matters till about August — if I re- 
member correctly, it was our fourth quarterly meet- 
ing — we had such promising signs of a revival that 
the preacher continued from day to day, for about two 
weeks. He was aided chiefly by the local brethren — 
some, by the clerical professors in our school. Not 
more than twenty professed religion in this revival. 
One was a case of special interest. On Sun- 
day, w T hile the pastor was preaching on the new 
birth, and just as he had explained that this happy 
change follows appropriating faith in our Lord Jesus 
Christ, a lady, who had been anxiously seeking the 
blessing for several clays, obtained it, proclaimed it, 
and ran to the pulpit, shouting, "I know it, I know 
it!" The effect was electrical. She was a lady of 
intelligence and high social position — her husband 



158 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



was a worldly-minded man, who seldom entered a 
church door — so that the evidences of genuineness 
were overwhelming. I heard the preacher say that 
he was nearer satisfied with that sermon than with 
any he had ever preached; and that if some one 
would believe and be converted every time he 
preached, he would conclude that he really was^a 
good preacher. "Why are not sinners converted 
under every sermon, 0 brothers ? 

This revival came to an end abruptly, and after 
this fashion : "When Brother Smith and the local 
brethren began to fail, the weather being exceed- 
ingly warm, some of the old members, who loved 
the memory of a former pastor, concluded that if 
they, only had him with them, every thing would 
move forward with irresistible power. So they dis- 
patched a message for him — he obeyed the call 
promptly, and in due time made his appearance 
in the pulpit before a house crowded to suffocation. 
He made a beautiful exordium, indulged in graceful 
allusions to his former connection with Sandburg, 
and then attempted to proceed with his discussion. 
He wandered about awhile, uttering straggling, dis- 
connected, and irrelevant thoughts, till, finding 
himself completely in the dark, he hastened to con- 
clude, and sat down, overwhelmed with mortifica- 
tion. The standard of feeling in the congregation 
was too far above the preacher when he began — 
instead of rising to their pitch, he brought them 
down to his — and both he and his hearers grew 
colder and colder to the end. Good Dr. Watts 
defined our case exactly when he sang, "In vain we 



Our Church in Sandburg. 159 



strive to rise." We could not get over that shock. 
The meeting was closed, almost with the disgrace 
of failure after glorious success. 

Our station was fruitful this year, in giving to the 
ministry a promising laborer. He was licensed to 
preach, recommended to Conference, and is, at this 
writing, a useful traveling preacher. There is al- 
ways life in a Church when its young men are 
called to this high and holy vocation. 

We had some affliction this year. Several of our 
members suffered severe and protracted illness. That 
terrible disease, typhoid fever, appeared in town, and 
not a few were subjected to its slow but certain rav- 
ages. One poor sister went up from a hovel of 
squalid poverty to her mansion in the " Father's 
house. 5 ' How strange, that from such a sorrowful 
scene as her death, there should come a cause of 
laughter! But so it was. Returning from her 
funeral, the pastor remarked to old Sister Cobbs, 
"What a wonderful transition from a suffering 
body and wretched poverty to immortal joys and 
boundless wealth ! " " Yes," said she, " I have often 
thought of that great and sudden change, when a 
poor Christian gets to heaven : it must require a 
strong constitution to stand it ! " 

Ignorance often singularly dwells with goodness. 
At one of our country appointments, a man about 
forty years of age had been converted. He made a 
zealous member, but was sadly uneducated in bib- 
lical literature. He was telling one of the young 
brethren from town about a wonderful sermon a 
local preacher had delivered at the appointment on 



160 Our Church in Sandburg. 



the preceding Sunday. "What was the text?" 
asked the young brother. "I can't tell you," re- 
plied Brother Hammill, " adzactly what it was, but I 
know pretty near where it was." " Well, where was 
it? maybe I can repeat it," said he from town. "It 
was in first Psalms or second Philip, one or the 
other," said Hammill. " .Get your Bible, and look," 
suggested the young man. Hammill got his Bible 
and opened at Genesis, and patiently turned through 
until he came to Philippians. "Here," said he, "is 
Philip Pyans, but I don't see second Philip; I 
reckon it and first Psalms are both left out of 
my Bible." 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



161 



CHAPTER XV. 



Fifteenth year — Brother Morton, preacher — His character — 
Large family — An old slander — A broken heart — Safe ad- 
ministration — Spiritual life — Lining the hymns — A trouble 
cured — Sudden fall — Professor Chardon's apostasy — Two ac- 
quisitions and their story — Our supernumerary — Migratory 
population. 

rpHE revolution of the ecclesiastical wheel 



J- brought to our station the Rev. Samuel Mor- 
ton, one of the truest, purest, holiest men I ever 
knew. His face bore the priestly motto of the an- 
cient ritual, " Holiness to the Lord;" and all his 
sermons and private conversations were wonder- 
fully redolent of "the mind that was in Christ 
Jesus." Yet neither the wickedest sinner nor the 
most formal saint could accuse him of cant or pre- 
tense in religion. If there was any thing against 
Brother Morton's character, it was that " all men 
spoke well of him." His preaching was not as 
grand in thought or as beautiful in language as that 
of some of our former pastors, but he was sound in 
doctrine, deep in experience, powerful in example, 
and earnest in delivery. He lost nothing by his 
lack of oratory. 

But his arrival stirred up a little short-lived 
trouble among the stewards. He had too large a 




162 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



family to board — wished to live rather on the out- 
skirts of town, where a larger lot, and less tempta- 
tion, would help him raise his boys. This, after 
some flutter and fuss, was all arranged according to 
his wishes. It was an inconvenient arrangement, 
in some respects. The sisters wanted Sister Mor- 
ton in a more central position, so she could be 
always on hand to assist them in their Church 
work; but when they ascertained w 7 hat a faithful 
and judicious mother she was, what a model house- 
keeper, what a kind and benevolent nurse to the 
sick, they excused her from active leadership in the 
more public affairs of their department. Her children 
advertised the mother wherever they appeared — at 
church, on the street, or in school. The old slander, 
that "preachers' children are the worst children in 
the neighborhood," was silently but completely re- 
futed by this well-ordered family. 

Reader, let us sit down here and talk awhile on 
the subject of preachers' children. And, to give a 
practical turn to the subject, I will introduce an- 
other preacher's family, and we will see what con- 
clusion we can reach by the comparison. There 
dwelt in Sandburg, at this time, an aged widow of 
an old traveling preacher, who had spent his life's 
prime in the work, and had gone to his rew T ard a 
few years before. There were in the family several 
boys and one daughter — all grown, or nearly so. 
The father had been a popular minister, much of 
his time from home, easy and indulgent when there. 
The mother was foolishly w r eak, not to say culpably 
blind, in regard to her children's deportment. So 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



163 



far from controlling them, and correcting their 
faults herself, she would hide their errors from 
their father, when he was at home, and even make 
false reports to him about their conduct during his 
absence. They soon came to understand this state 
of things, and entered, without fear of punishment, 
into every inviting path of sinful indulgence. Idle- 
ness, bad company, night revels with low associates, 
soon brought them down to the lowest point in 
morals, and to the lowest seat in society. The good 
old man discovered, when the fatal mistake was past 
remedy, that he sinned against society and against 
his own posterity by slackness in parental discipline. 
And when his only daughter abandoned the way 
of virtue, and brought disgrace upon the name of 
woman, it was more than he could bear : his heart 
broke under the weight, and his gray hairs went 
down in sorrow to the grave. 

Now, right under the same sky, surrounded by 
the same external conditions, Brother Morton's 
sons and daughters grew up, and have long since 
attained to manhood and womanhood. They are 
intelligent, honorable, and honored, and have taken 
position in society, high among the highest, best 
among the good. Was the efficient cause of the 
outcome in either case their being children of 
preachers ? You say, No ! I say, No ! "What then? 
Simply this, and nothing more: In the one case the 
parents were false to the calls of duty — neglected 
their offspring — blindly and wickedly permitted 
them to go to ruin ; in the other case there was 
Christian discipline, good family government — 



164 Our Church in Sandburg. 



father and mother mutually helping each other in 
the sacred task of "bringing up their children in 
the nurture and admonition of the Lord" — and 
when those children got old, they did not depart 
from the principles of virtue and piety implanted in 
their youthful hearts. " Whatsoever a man soweth, 
that shall he also reap." 

The administration of Brother Morton was emi- 
nently edifying. His sermons were sound in matter, 
full of instruction to the inquirer, full of warning 
to the wicked. His was indeed a ministry of light 
and love — a rare mingling of qualities, but a most 
healthful mixture. "When light shines and love 
melts, flowing from the pulpit in fervid and glowing 
language, who so hard as not to confess the divine 
origin and the divine power of the gospel ? 

There was no special revival this year, but yet the 
Church grew and flourished. The influence was 
constant and progressive, but not "with observa- 
tion." It was more like the fire in a coal-kiln, 
where the heat gradually and regularly insinuates 
itself through the whole mass, bringing all parts 
into uniformity and into a desired condition, than 
like the flaring and lashing flame of open-air com- 
bustion. There really appeared to be more spirit- 
ual life in Sunday-school instructions and exercises 
than formerly there had been. The children took a 
deeper interest in those parts of their lessons that 
brought them nearer to Christ. Their singing 
was greatly improved, both in taste and anima- 
tion, for about this time music and words, specially 
adapted to young people, began to be introduced 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



165 



into our country. This was a grand advance in 
Sunday-school work. 

Our Church took a new step — forward, the large 
majority believed, but backward, a few declared — 
in congregational singing. It was found that we 
were drawling along in that part of worship, in a 
manner good enough in its day, but behind the 
times. Some of the young people banded together, 
employed a professional teacher, took lessons and 
practiced, until, before anybody was aware of the 
treat they were preparing for us, they broke forth 
with one of their choice voluntaries in such charm- 
ing style as to win an almost unanimous concession 
of merited praise. The leading of our singing was 
surrendered to them — hymn-books were procured 
for the congregation— lining the hymns was aban- 
doned. Some few good brethren, who could not be 
convinced that a new sharp knife is better than a 
dull old one, even when they have a hard stick to 
cut, grumbled at the innovation, and talked sneer- 
ingly about " the stuck-up choir;" but "progress" 
carried the day — for it was progress. 

Our good pastor had a short but serious trouble 
with a young married lady, a member of the Church, 
whose husband was a high-strung young lawyer, 
but ignorant of religion. The lady had danced, or 
was said to have encouraged dancing, at a party. 
The pastor, as in duty bound, sought an interview 
with her on the subject, but the young husband re- 
jected it as an officious interference with private 
rights, and made threats of personal violence if any 
steps were taken to bring his wife to trial. A few 



166 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



judicious friends instructed the young gentleman 
more fully in regard to Church obligations, and as- 
sured him that the pastor was only doing his 
bounden duty. He changed his manner, and 
promptly gave assurances that the offense should 
not be repeated. 

It saddens my heart even to record a loss we sus- 
tained this year, in the defection of two prominent 
members. Let the story be short as possible. Mr. 
Cane, a merchant, prosperous and rich, had for sev- 
eral years maintained an unblemished reputation as 
a business man and as a Christian. He stood high 
in the Church, and held the honorable office of 
steward. To the utter astonishment of the com- 
munity, and to the unspeakable mortification of his 
brethren, it transpired that he was dreadfully in- 
volved in his finances, and worse involved in moral 
obliquity. " The loftiest pines fall with the heaviest 
crash," says Horace. This man's fall illustrates that 
figure. Never was there a more sudden and disas- 
trous termination of a prosperous business career; 
never did the followers of Christ witness a more 
total and shameful apostasy. 

Scarcely had we ceased to wonder at this sudden 
turn in Mr. Cane's affairs, when we began to fear a 
like result in the history of another honored brother. 
Professor Chardon — a ripe scholar, a clear-headed 
thinker, a popular teacher — for many years a Meth- 
odist, for several months a steward, had allowed his 
mind to become so poisoned by Swedenborg's 
dreamy mysticisms, that he began to doubt, then to 
deny, some of the cardinal doctrines of the gospel. 



Our Church in Sandburg. 167 



He published in the Sandburg Gazette a caustic review 
of a sermon on the resurrection, which the pastor 
had lately preached. In this review, after exhaust- 
ing his supply of argument, he employed unchaste 
and offensive language, denouncing all who be- 
lieved in the resurrection of this body as "the de- 
luded victims of a senseless superstition." Of 
course the pastor took no notice of this unbroth- 
erly attack, believing that its author would very 
soon solve the problem of his Church relations 
for himself. It was known, not long after this, 
that Professor Chardon was indulging freely in 
strong drink. His connection with the school was 
severed — he got out of the Church, I do not re- 
member how — became an avowed infidel, a public 
drunkard, and died such a death as must needs end 
such a life. 

Could the cause survive these disgraces ? It 
could — it did. The world cannot rationally charge 
religion with the bad conduct of its votaries, as long 
as the Church promptly denounces crime and re- 
nounces criminals. Judas left a vacancy in the 
number of apostles; he detracted nothing from the 
divine authority and commission of the apostleship. 
His place was filled by a better man, and Christian- 
ity spread over the world. Our Church filled the 
places of Cane and Chardon, and went on in pros- 
perity. 

Perhaps it was providential that, about this time, 
we were strengthened by the acquisition of two 
members, Barker and Tracey by name, who had be- 
come citizens of Sandburg some time before. They 



168 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



exercised for several years their well-developed gifts 
and graces among us, adding no little to our spirit- 
ual, social, and financial resources. They had a re- 
markable history in relation to each other, and a 
remarkable coincidence attended their coming in 
and going out of our fellowship, while a complete 
dissimilarity marked their subsequent careers. 

Brother Barker was the senior of the two, a 
farmer, and moved into Sandburg from the East, 
settling among us for the purpose of educating 
,his children. He was a rich planter, a judicious 
and safe business man. He was far more spiritual 
than the laity of his time generally were — sang 
well at prayer-meetings, prayed well in public, was 
even fluent and impressive in exhortation. He was 
steward and class-leader, filling both offices in a 
highly satisfactory manner. These strong points, 
added to his good practical sense in public and mu- 
nicipal affairs, soon placed him in the front rank in 
social and ecclesiastical circles. 

Brother Tracey came to Sandburg from the "West 
— a merchant with small capital, began business on 
a moderate scale at first, and devoted himself to it 
with marked industry and energy. In religious 
affairs he was, perhaps, more active and forward 
than Brother Barker. This zeal placed him in office 
— he was elected steward and superintendent of the 
Sunday-school, and for a season was a model worker 
in each. There were no men, connected with us at 
that time, more judiciously zealous, more persever- 
ingly laborious, than these two. Let me anticipate 
events a little, and sketch, briefly, their subsequent 



Our Church in Sandburg. 169 



history, They left Sandburg not far from the same 
time, one going North, the other South. Misfor- 
tunes came upon Brother Barker in a few years, 
and completely stripped him of his property. But 
his integrity remained untarnished. The religion 
which had comforted him in prosperity, now con- 
soled him in adversity. Brother Tracey was suc- 
cessful in business — there seemed to be a charm in 
his hand, that whatever he touched turned to gold. 
But alas ! as money came into his pocket, religion 
went out of his heart. He abandoned his religious 
profession, and gave himself up wholly to a life of 
worldliness and sensuality. The religion which he 
had sought and cultivated in his poverty and early 
struggles, he renounced in the days of secular ag- 
grandizement. "How hardly shall they who trust 
in riches enter into the kingdom of heaven!" 

It is so rare to see " elegant leisure" used to the 
glory of God, that I mention with gratitude the 
citizenship and occasional ministrations of the 
Rev. Mr. Willburn, a supernumerary preacher. The 
school had brought him to the vicinity of our town. 
Having ample means, he was not compelled to give 
attention to business; and having no pastoral work, 
he had time to assist others whenever his health 
would permit. Hence, he was a valuable adjunct to 
the pastorship, and an able and instructive preacher. 

A perpetual check on secular and spiritual devel- 
opment in the South is the migratory instinct of 
the people. When the novelty of a place ceases to 
charm, or when the surface soil of a farm is ex- 
hausted by unwise culture, the next impulse is to 
8 



170 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



move to a newer region. This characteristic of our 
people may prevent the stagnation of society, and 
promote a sort of freshness and vitality in individ- 
ual life; but it oftener, perhaps, hinders that har- 
mony of taste and feeling of common interest so 
necessary to the success of Christian enterprises. 
Men lose their attachment to a Church, and the 
Church loses its power to command and use their 
talents, whenever they begin to feel unsettled, and 
look about for a more inviting domicile. Under the 
operation of this cause, and, alas ! under the sterner 
law of death, I find in our communion now, at the 
end of fifteen years, only a few of those who loved 
and labored together when my narrative began. 
But few of these deaths have been recorded, because 
this is not so much a history of individual members 
as of the works, the reverses, and the successes of a 
perpetuated membership. 



Our Church in Sandburg. 171 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Sixteenth and seventeenth years—Brother Pollock's coming, 
works, and death — A Christian death — A supply — Too 
much for one— Kevival and romance— Brother Burleson 
our preacher — -A mistake — A year of gloom — Universalist 
preacher — A happy death sanctified to good — A train — 
Farewell to Sister Phipps— Aunt Euthie's burial — Under 
a cloud. 

AFTER this lovely and beloved man of God 
(Brother Morton) had fulfilled his ministry with 
us, and gone to another field, came the Rev. Albert 
Pollock as our pastor. He was a younger man than 
his predecessor, but no less intent on doing good. 
What he lacked in experience, he strove to supple- 
ment by hearty counsel with older ministers and earn- 
est prayer to God. Ardent in temperament, sensitive 
to the calls of duty, panting after knowledge, bur- 
dened with the worth of souls, he addressed him- 
self to the work with a loftiness of purpose truly 
poetical, and a zeal really apostolic. His young 
wife, trained in the heart of one of the oldest and 
stanchest Methodist families, knew already much 
of the privations of itinerant life, but did not shrink 
from the worst. Their home was with one of the 
brethren — they preferred to board. 

Brother Pollock's sermons were not on a level 



172 Our Church in Sandburg. 



with those we had lately heard, but his earnestness 
and directness of diction and manner threw a charm 
around his pulpit which drew, and then entertained, 
large congregations, He was a fine reader: his 
Scripture lessons were so read as to excite attention, 
and in reading a hymn he felt and expressed, in 
tone and emphasis, the most impassioned passages. 
I make a special note of this superior excellency 
because it is so rarely possessed, so lightly esteemed, 
so little cultivated. I accept the ability to read a 
hymn in the pulpit, so as to bring out its meaning 
perfectly, as evidence of a high order of talent, or a 
high state of cultivation — it is either a great gift or 
a great grace. It was one of the attractions of our 
Sunday service, this beautiful and expressive read- 
ing. I shall never forget the fervor and force with 
which he read " 0 where shall rest be found," the 
last time he appeared in the pulpit. The last time ! 
That came in the early spring-time of his pastoral 
year. A mortal disease arrested him in his ardent 
and upward career, and released him from labor - 
forever. 

I shall attempt no word-painting of a sorrowful, 
painful, yet beautiful and triumphant death-scene. 
That scene defies description. Angels might set his 
words to music, and chant them as an anthem in 
singing the wonders of redemption; but no mortal 
can repeat them, save one already near enough to 
the heavenly world to hear its songs and feel its in- 
spirations. " Come," said he to the wife of another 
minister, " see how a Christian minister can die, that 
you may ever cheer your husband's toils with the 



Our Church in Sandburg. 173 



hope of this reward.' 5 In words of manly affection 
he took leave of his own stricken wife, embraced 
his two little boys, shook hands with a company of 
weeping brethren, and then went home to Jesus. 
The worldly bard would say, " 0 what a noble heart 
was here undone!" The Christian poet sings, 
"How blessed the righteous when he dies!" 

The funeral of Brother Pollock was a strong in- 
dorsement of his character. All classes and kinds 
of people thronged the church, and joined in the 
procession. The sermon was preached by Professor 
Smith, from the text: "Mark the perfect man, and 
behold the upright; for the end of that man is 
peace." 

The Presiding Elder of the District employed 
Professor Smith to take charge of the station for 
the remainder of the year. This arrangement was 
the best that could be made, for Professor Smith 
had filled the station a few years before, and was 
generally acceptable. But he could do nothing but 
preach — his duties in school effectually prevented 
him from doing the kind and amount of pastoral 
work necessary to the development of a Church. 
No preacher ought to be allowed to have double 
work, except in providential cases like this. The 
one work of feeding the flock of Christ is as 
much as any man can do successfully. How, then, 
can a man be teacher in a school, employed all the 
time five days in the week, and visit the sick, look 
after delinquents, find and encourage the distressed, 
seek out and assist the tender inquirer, call on 
and get acquainted with strangers who come into 



174 Our Church m Sandburg. 



his town, study two sermons for Sunday, attend to 
Ms own domestic matters, and many occasional 
calls beside ? The thing is utterly impossible — one 
or the other branch of labor is sure to be neglected. 
And whereas the school claims five-sevenths of the 
time, and claims it so imperiously that no modifica- 
tion is admissible, and as the meat-and-bread ques- 
tion is intimately connected with success in school, 
it does not require much arithmetic to find which 
of the two is to suffer. Let teachers teach; let pas- 
tors preach and feed the flock, and let the Church 
honor and support its faithful pastors. 

During the temporary pastorship of Professor 
Smith, there was a very gracious revival, conducted 
mostly by visiting and local brethren, in which sev- 
eral were converted, and the Christians wonderfully 
blessed. Some of the fruits of that short season of 
grace have ripened and been gathered home; some 
are yet living and laboring in the common cause in 
other portions of the- vineyard. I must mention 
four young girls, then just approaching woman- 
hood, who were singularly happy during that meet- 
ing. Two of them died soon afterward — one in 
calm, serene peace, the other with joy and singing, 
and heavenly light upon her face. The other two 
illustrate the vicissitude of this uncertain life. Miss 
Mollie was a poor girl, but queenly in form, slow 
but determined in learning, full of aspirations after 
the highest attainments. Miss Jennie was rich, 
haughty, fair, quick and sprightly in mind, rather 
frivolous for a Christian, deeming all the resources 
of life at her command. She was disposed to look 



Our Church in Sandburg. 175 



down from her lofty social status upon her poor class- 
mate, and acted toward her more as a condescending 
patron than as an equal and friend. Time brought 
maturity and marriage : Mollie was admired for her 
personal worth by a wealthy gentleman, much her 
senior in years, greatly above her in family con- 
nection. She accepted him, was " endowed with 
his worldly goods," rode in high places, and w r as, 
for years, one of the most popular and courted 
leaders of the ton in a distant city. Jennie was ad- 
mired and sought by a gay young man, whose fancy 
her wit had captivated, whose mercenary soul her 
money attracted. She accepted him, and, after a 
brief season of extravagant splendor, was left a 
drunkard's penniless widow, to work through a life 
she had mistaken, at toil she had despised, for the 
support of her orphan children. 

From Conference this fall came the Rev. Robert 
Burleson to our station. Like our last pastor, he 
was a young married man — was considered able to 
fill "good appointments" — had some talent, a modi- 
cum of industry and not quite enough zeal, suspected 
the people of not appreciating his abilities, was in- 
clined to be querulous and peevish when things did 
not suit him, and — but this is enough. He was glad 
when his year was out; perhaps not one of the flock 
wept when he went away. "Wise and good men 
make mistakes sometimes — the Bishop made one in 
this instance. 

The Church kept together this year more by the 
attraction of cohesion than by the central force of 
the pastor. Occasionally we heard a minister from 



176 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



the school, or had the instruction of Brother Will- 
burn, our learned supernumerary, or were roused 
and cheered by the Presiding Elder at quarterly 
meetings. So we had no u famine of hearing the 
word of the Lord," though our stated diet was 
neither abundant nor nutritious. 

In other respects this was a year of gloom. In 
the winter, typhoid fever prevailed; in the summer, 
dysentery. The doctors did not know how to treat 
either disease at that time; hence numbers died. 
The school was damaged by this epidemic sickness 
— scholars went home, and matters wore a most 
unpromising appearance. Among the victims of 
typhoid fever, and one of the first, was our Brother 
Miles, a large, strong, vigorous man — a wagon- 
maker by trade. He wilted under the dreadful 
scourge, wasted away, and died — but his end was 
peace. Then one of the most popular and accom- 
plished young men in town, a young merchant, 
moral but not religious, was taken down, lingered, 
wasted, died. He professed religion during his 
sickness, and his friends had hope in his death. 
Perhaps the next victim was a man from New 
York, who had recently come to Sandburg to estab- 
lish some sort of a factory. He was a shrewd, 
sharp man — gave out that he was a TJniversalist 
preacher, and was going to enlighten the people 
on the subject of religion. Poor man ! he clung to 
life with the grip of despair, tried to beat death 
back by main strength, but yielded at last, and left 
no words of hope behind. How different another ! 
Mrs. Eollin was a pious matron, in middle age, the 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



177 



mother of a lovely family. Col. Rollin, her hus- 
band, was not religions. She yielded so uncom- 
plainingly to the will of God, talked so composedly 
of the comforts of religion in the last great trial, 
that her friends mingled joy with their grief at her 
departure, and her husband, like the great Chateau- 
briand at the death of his mother, "wept and be- 
lieved/' 

But this mournful record of mortality is too long 
— for these are but a few of the many who passed 
away from earth during this eventful year. The 
good died — the wicked were hurried away — the old 
and the young went side by side to the cemetery. 
It was a dark time. 

Besides all this, it was a time of financial strin- 
gency. Bad crops and poor prices prostrated busi- 
ness, and only those who had ample capital or strong 
friends could brook the current. Many went down 
under the violent force of unexpected reverses. 

A passenger, with a through ticket on a railroad, 
sees human nature in endless variety. Between 
start and terminus he is left by most of those who 
went aboard with him, while at every depot some 
more come on, ride a few miles, and disappear. 
The sober old man, the thoughtless young man, the 
grave and solid middle-aged, plain old women, gay 
young ladies, anxious mothers with fretful babes, 
gay belles with smiling beaux, embrowned farmers, 
hard-worked mechanics, the sagacious lawyer, the 
grave minister, the empty buffoon, the slick-tongued 
hypocrite, the disguised pick-pocket, the escaping 
murderer — all whirl along together. So in the cur- 
8* 



178 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



rent history of a community — the few that live 
through fifteen or twenty years find themselves sur- 
rounded by a new population. If a man lives many 
years, nearly all his friends are new — the old ones 
have passed away. Yielding to this law, we "let 
off," this year, several of our first members. Good 
Sister Phipps — she who prayed so loud, and banged 
the mourners so hard — removed to a neighboring 
town. A change in her fortunes compelled a change 
in homes. Dear old Aunt Ruthie, the curiously- 
deformed, the craky-headed sister, yielded to the 
ravages of disease, and was not. We heartily 
trusted, as we smoothed down her grave, that she 
was with her oft-celebrated saints, " Meek old Moses 
and good old Daniel — safe in the promised land." 

"Whoever reads these pages will not be surprised 
to read this statement: Our Church in Sandburg is 
under a cloud — its membership is thinned — many 
are discouraged — the people generally are dispirited 
— congregations are not as large, the tone of the 
worshipers not as animated, as they were a year ago. 
Israel was in the wilderness, but they were Israel 
still. The Lord took care of us, also, and brought 
us to see better days. 



Our Church in Sandburg. 179 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Eighteenth and nineteenth years — Kailroad and telegraph — 
Brother Alfred Marsden — Civilization — Preacher labors — 
Sinner dies— Dr. Josephs' s faith — A case of lay baptism- 
Good preaching — Zion refreshed — Brother Marsden' s sec- 
ond year —Children sing — All sing — Israel rejoices — No 
formula — A Timothy sent forth — Baptists and Cumberlands 
organize — Help and health. 

"TIT AS the train arrived?" 

"Not yet; it is behind time, and is expected 
at 4:40 p. m. Are yon looking for any one this 
evening?" 

"Yes, we expect our new preacher on this train. 
Conference adjourned yesterday, and we received a 
dispatch saying that he would be here to-day." 

" Who is he ? I have not heard who was appointed 
for this place." 

" The Eev. Alfred Marsden." 

" What about him ? Will he do ? Who knows 
him?" 

" Professor Smith knows him well — says he is the 
very man for us. He is a stranger in this region, 
having traveled most of his time in the northern 
part of our territory." 

"Has he a family? What's his age? What for 
a scholar is he?" 



180 Our Church in Sandburg. 



"He has a wife and two children, I understand — 
is about thirty, or may be under — and as to his edu- 
cation, I know but little, except that he is said to be 
a man of fair attainments, well posted in theology, 
of sprightly mind, pleasant address, and a real 
worker." 

" That all sounds well; I am glad to have such a 
favorable account." 

This conversation between a steward and a pri- 
vate member explains itself, and suggests one or 
two other things. We have come to the age of 
railroads and telegraphs — institutions unknown 
when our narrative opened. Sandburg has the 
benefits and the evils of both, and has become fa- 
miliar with the new language and new modes of 
business introduced by these wonderful inventions. 
Its plodding method has changed to rapid and 
restless ways, and impatience at an hour's delay 
prevails where a few years ago men could wait days 
together without complaining. Are these inven- 
tions improvements? In a human and political 
sense, yes; in a moral and religious sense, no. 
Were I merely a statesman, laboring to aggrandize 
my country and my age, I would use all available 
means to promote facilities for transportation of 
merchandise and transmission of thought; I would 
cultivate the fine arts, encourage splendor in archi- 
tecture, and lavish rewards even on labor-saving 
and ornamental inventions, until my State should 
rival Babylon in splendor, and my capital surpass 
Rome in wealth and power. But were I a moralist 
and philanthropist, seeking the greatest and most 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



181 



permanent good of my age, I would commend sim- 
plicity in manners, adhere to natural modes of 
transportation, encourage a tardy transmission of 
news and of ideas, discountenance all exhibitions 
of pride in architecture, and pay large premiums on 
honest manual labor. This may seem like strange 
language from a professional teacher; I shall not 
defend the opinion, knowing that whoever lives to 
see the real supplant the hypothetical, the useful ac- 
cepted instead of the ornamental, the good adopted 
and the evil rejected, will acknowledge the wisdom 
of this theory. 

I beg pardon for this reflection, naturally enough 
thrown in while waiting for the cars. Kow, we 
must drown our sober thoughts in the scream, and 
roar, and clatter of the coming train, and the rush, 
push, and shove of the mannerless crowd that infest 
the depot. Brother Marsden, with wife and babes, 
is received cordially at the car door, and taken to 
his rooms at Brother Harwood's boarding-house. 
He is a small man, very dark hair, beard, and eyes, 
with quick motions, and features indicative of charac- 
ter. Any one, at all gifted in reading character from 
the features, would say at once that he is a man 
of thought, energy, decision — perhaps eminent in 
strength of will. Thus introduced, he went to 
work, everybody seeming pleased with the hope- 
ful promise always connected with energy. The 
promise was not in the existing status, but in the 
preacher's will to labor, and specially in God's pledge 
of good to him that soweth. 

The prevalent sickness had not yet abated. "We 



182 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



lost one or two distinguished citizens about this 
time — men of great moral worth. One of the sad- 
dest afflictions connected with this visitation was 
the death of a very popular but very wicked citizen. 
He was a kind-hearted, friendly, social, genial man — 
had been rich, but had squandered his estate by dis- 
sipation — had a large family, who, as well as him- 
self, were kept up by friends and relatives. Well, 
this man — Mr. Mardoc — -fell under the epidemic, 
and seeing that he must die, called for the ministers 
and Christian friends to pray for him and instruct 
him — a call which they speedily obeyed. It was too 
late; the fatal line was passed — there was no godly 
sorrow, no living faith, no hope in his death. There 
seemed to be a gloom resting upon the community. 
His funeral was attended by numbers of his old 
companions in sin, and the preacher was not slack 
in reminding them of their certain fate if they did 
not repent. Let every minister be honest and plain 
with the living when he can say no good of the 
dead. 

Another melancholy case must be recorded, be- 
cause the ministry and other praying people had 
made special efforts in the case, and failed. Dr. 
Josephs, a gentleman and a good physician, had 
been deeply convicted, but he resisted. The pastor 
had visited him, and pleaded with him. The doctor 
replied, "I know myself a sinner — I know, also, 
that none but Christ can save me, and that I ought 
to submit to him and trust in him. But yet I delay, 
and have no excuse for it." He still delayed, turned 
to brandy to drown the troubles of his mind, and 



Our Church m Sandburg. 183 



succeeded, I fear, in drowning his soul in perdition 
— for he died a drunkard. 

A case of more than ordinary interest occurred 
about this time. A young man, clerk in a store in 
town, feeling symptoms of sickness, went to his 
mother's, some seven miles in the country. Grow- 
ing rapidly worse, he called his mother, and said, 
"Mother, I feel that I am going to die; I have never 
been baptized, but I know my sins are all forgiven, 
and I am not afraid to die. Please send for the 
minister, and let him baptize me." A messenger 
was started to town immediately, but it was late in 
the night when he arrived, and a violent storm was 
raging at the time, which prevented the preacher 
from setting out before clay-break. "When he 
reached the house, the young man was dead. The 
widowed mother met him, and with tears and sobs 
of sorrow, and with a troubled mind lest she had 
done wrong, said to him, "Brother Marsden, my 
dear boy found that he was going, and asked me 
again and again if you had come ; when I told him 
you had not, he said, < Mother, I can't die satisfied 
without baptism — get some water, and baptize me 
yourself/ I could not deny my child's last wish, so 
I got a bowl of water, knelt by his bed and prayed, 
and then baptized him in the name of the Lord. 
It relieved his mind, and he calmly fell asleep in 
Jesus. Did I do wrong?" The preacher replied, 
"Ko, Sister W., you did exactly right; the ordi- 
nance was as valid in the sight of God as if I had 
done it myself." Some theologians might, per- 
haps, give a different answer to the mother's ques- 



184 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



tion; but plain sense, and parental affection, and 
scriptural faith, all say, " She did exactly right — it 
was a valid baptism." 

Brother Marsden addressed himself to his pas- 
toral work with steadiness and energy. He visited 
from house to house, talked to and prayed with the 
families, exhorted all to attend regularly to their 
private duties and to the social meetings, dropped 
a fitly-spoken word, now and then, in the stores and 
offices on the square, visited the school, and showed 
a hearty interest in the salvation of the students. 
His preaching was warm and fresh, and if his ser- 
mons did not smell of the midnight lamp, they ex- 
haled the dewy fragrance of Sharon's Rose. In a 
month or two the Church realized the influence of a 
pastor, and began to center around him ; and the peo- 
ple felt the spirit of an earnest minister, and began 
to flock together to hear him. The purer and health- 
ier atmosphere that brought release from sickness in 
town, found a striking correspondence in the fresh 
vigor and vitality of the people of God. "We felt 
how sweet must have been those songs of ancient 
Zion, when the Lord turned the captivity of his 
people, and "Jacob rejoiced, and Israel was glad." 

Though greatly refreshed, we experienced no 
special "feast of weeks" this year. The time was 
mostly occupied in building up the waste-places, 
and in getting back fully into the old paths. Some, 
however, were added to our roll, good and valuable 
members. Thus the year passed away — Conference 
came and was over — Brother Marsden was returned 
to Sandburg. 



Our Church in Sandburg. 185 



Having the vantage-ground of last year's success, 
he went to work with hopeful diligence. The Sun- 
day-school was fully restored to its former prosper- 
ity, congregations looked like they did in days past 
— once more we were "strong in the Lord." Noth- 
ing (that is, as a means) contributes more to the life 
of worship than good singing. This adjunct to de- 
votion had sadly decayed; it was now brought back, 
and even advanced beyond its previous standard of 
excellency. The children received special instruc- 
tion and exercises in vocal music under an efficient 
teacher; so that, with understanding and heart 
joined in sacred song, they inaugurated the Sab- 
bath-day's exercises with thrilling, charming, ele- 
vating strains of melody. Congregational singing 
was cultivated, also, with a zeal and taste that soon 
brought out ail the best talent of the Church in 
harmonious praise. I wonder how a pastor who 
does not give attention to this branch of worship 
can expect success in his labors. 

An experienced minister or layman, after reading 
the statements here made, is anticipating the an- 
nouncement of a revival, of a great awakening and 
a glorious harvest of souls. It came — a precious 
season of grace. We saw once more the altar of 
old Sandburg Church surrounded by mourners in 
Zion, we heard again the unmistakable note of vic- 
tory, as from time to time some struggling soul 
emerged into " the liberty of the sons of God." 
The little girl, with gladness sparkling in her eyes, 
told how precious Jesus is to the trusting heart; 
the strong young man, giving his heart to God, 



186 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



spoke words of more than eloquence in expressing 
the joys of pardon; the aged, with tears of rapture 
on their furrowed cheeks, magnified the long-suffer- 
ing mercy which had forgiven a life of sin; while 
many old members, who had seen the glory of 
former years, and had lived through the gloom 
and shadow of the recent past, scarcely restrained 
themselves from extravagant displays of joy. 

There is no fixed form of revivals — manifesta- 
tions of saving grace are not made by rule. It is 
difficult, nay, it is dangerous, if not irreverent, to 
judge of the genuineness of a work by external 
signs. The gentle dew nourishes the plant, the 
noiseless shower invigorates the drooping crop, 
the storm and tempest, lashing the forest in fury, 
pours copious richness on the thirsty fields ; and 
who shall dictate to the Father which of these to 
send upon his vineyard? Even so — let the minister 
plant carefully, and cultivate diligently, and then let 
him and his charge wait, "and have long patience, 
till they receive the early and the latter rain;" and 
whether it come in pentecostal power, or in gentle 
acceptance of grace, like that which opened Lydia's 
heart, let it be received and appreciated with equal 
gratitude. 

One of the converts of this revival is now an em- 
inent minister. He, perhaps, may read this line 
without identifying himself. The full harvest, 
however, was not gathered into our garner: other 
denominations received accessions from the happy 
season. The organization of a Missionary Baptist, 
and also of a Cumberland Presbyterian Church, in 



Our Church in Sandburg. 187 



town, should have been mentioned before. The 
ministers of these Churches rendered valuable assist- 
ance, throwing their whole strength on the Lord's 
side, and forgetting, for a time, their sectarian pe- 
culiarities. How wonderfully the love of Christ is 
at war with bigotry ! In revivals these differences 
are forgotten or subordinated; in seasons of cold- 
ness they flourish. 

In the ministerial department we had help in 
great variety. Several brethren — plain, solid men — 
came from their charges, and engaged in assisting 
Brother Marsden. It is not always a good plan to 
have very many preachers in a protracted meeting, 
but this time it worked admirably. There seemed 
to be a pungency in the words of one of these visit- 
ing brothers which reached hearts that would not 
yield to the strongest appeals made by more pol- 
ished speakers. So it is : the Spirit uses means, and 
in his hands a flint-pointed arrow is more potent 
than burnished steel in human hands. 

The Church felt, as the year approached its close, 
that it was in a much-improved condition. Per- 
haps affliction, through which we had passed, had 
been made a blessing to us ; doubtless the prayers 
and supplications of the membership were greatly 
to our profit; but to the persistent labors of the 
pastor, God's grace attending, we were chiefly in- 
debted for the wonderful restoration. For, for this 
purpose — that is, "the perfecting of the saints, and 
the edifying of the body of Christ" — has the Lord 
given to the Church apostles, prophets, pastors, and 
teachers. 



188 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Twentieth and twenty-first years — Eev. Dr. Roberts — His 
household — Sandburg remodeled — A bank and a banker — 
Mischief done — Additions — Col. Green — Dr. Haines — 
Brother Rowland — A liberal sinner — Not much progress — 
Dr. Roberts returned — "Marrying out of meeting" — Which 
should yield ? — A storm of trouble — Discretion and loyalty — 
Preacher broken down. 

TT^IIE Rev. Dr. Roberts succeeded Brother Mars- 
~L den in our station. The Doctor was advanced 
in years toward the "high twelve" of life, was a 
short, thick-set gentleman, of agreeable presence, 
very companionable, quite piquant and spicy in con- 
versation. He was more than an average preacher 
as to matter and manner, and having a good utter- 
ance — one of Mr. Wesley's points in the make-up 
of a preacher — and being entirely new to us, a re- 
cent transfer from another Conference, he began his 
pastorate under as fair conditions, and with as few 
drawbacks, as ever a preacher did. He had, more- 
over, a nice family of boys and girls, and dwelt in a 
hired house which the stewards promptly provided 
for him. In this he had a better berth than St. 
Paul had at Rome. 

The railroad, as heretofore mentioned, remodeled 
old business somewhat, and opened doors for new 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



189 



enterprises. This brought a new element into the 
population— capital sought investment, and society 
invited additions of almost every class. Some of 
these additions were really subtractions from the 
aggregate moral value of the town. A wealthy 
banker brought his capital and his vices, and set 
both into active operation : the first, no doubt, fa- 
cilitated business, but the latter retarded good 
morals; for he and his became ringleaders in all 
sorts of respectable wickedness, such as dancing, 
cards, etc. Another gentleman of large resources 
moved from the country into town. His wife was a 
Methodist, and united with us; but the tide was so 
strongly set against her at home, that she seemed to 
keep her religion carefully removed beyond high- 
water mark. The old gentleman loved fun and 
frolic, the boys and girls preferred his ways to their 
mother's; so they carried matters with a high hand, 
and on a large scale. It is sad to contemplate how 
much poison two such families can scatter abroad 
in a community. These did much harm in Sand- 
burg for several years. They have nearly ail gone 
to the dogs in property and social status — some of 
them have gone to their final reward. 

Our Church received several other new members 
from the growing ranks of population. Col. Green, 
from a neighboring State, bought land near town, 
built a fine house, and ornamented his place with a 
taste bordering on magnificence. He, his wife, and 
three of the older children united with us, and were 
thought to be acquisitions. The Colonel was a 
boisterous, impulsive, showy man — loved to be 



190 Our Church in Sandburg, 



prominent in affairs — soon became a steward, and 
paid liberally toward supporting the station. But 
lie paid in Ms own way. It was common, in 
those days, to let the expense question drag along 
through the year, and then, at or near the close, to 
bring the subject before the congregation, and ap- 
peal to them for money — a despicable proceeding. 
On these, and similar occasions, Col. Green took 
care to make reputation for himself by making 
large donations to the cause, and calling on others 
to come up to their duty, and show a liberal Chris- 
tian spirit. This modus operandi injured his stand- 
ing, and damaged the good cause after awhile; for 
the people found out that he never gave any thing, 
except in public, and they therefore began to doubt 
his sincerity. Poor Green! "he loved this present 
world" — sought its perishing honors — grew less and 
less careful about his soul — until, by the time when 
this history closes, he and all his family were out 
of the fold of Christ, and wholly devoted to mam- 
mon. "If any man love the world, the love of the 
Father is not in him." 

Dr. Haines and his lovely family were real addi- 
tions to the social and religious wealth of the town. 
The Doctor was a modest, scholarly gentleman, 
front in his profession, devoted to Methodism. His 
wife was his equal in her sphere, and contributed 
vastly to the working force of our lady-membership. 

Brother Rowland, a machinist — a sensible and 
pious man, with an equally intelligent and godly 
wife — took place among us also. He was soon 
elected a steward, having the qualifications laid 



Our Church in Sandburg. 191 



down in the Discipline, viz : a man of solid piety, 
who knew and loved Methodist doctrine and disci- 
pline, and of good natural and acquired abilities 
to transact the business of the Church. But he 
had limited views on the subject of support. Hav- 
ing himself but a small family, and light expenses, 
and withal living very frugally at home, he thought 
a preacher could thrive well on the same plan; 
hence he would collect a dollar where ten would 
have been more suitable. For instance : he called 
on Sister Wilson for her quarterage, and when she 
asked him how much she ought to pay, he said, 
"Five dollars, I reckon, will be enough for you." 
Y^hen her husband, a liberal sort of sinner, heard 
of it, he cursed the steward and the Church for 
their stingy dealings and inadequate arrangements, 
and said, "If they had taxed you fifty dollars I 
would have thought there was some soul in the 
concern. Wife, if I were in your place I would not 
belong to any such a people. Do they want their 
preacher to give all his time and talents to their 
interest, and see his wife and children starve?" 
This was, of course, an extreme view of the case, 
and a rough way of expressing it, but it shows how 
closely the world watches the operations of the 
Church, and how unfavorably impressed they are 
by illiberality on our part toward our pastors. 
The true line of action, perhaps, lies between the 
sum assessed by Rowland and the sum estimated by 
Mr. Wilson. 

So went matters through this year. Dr. Roberts, 
it must be confessed, did not keep up altogether as 



192 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



well as his beginning promised. He had a large 
family, and pleaded this as an excuse for entering 
somewhat into secular business, which divided his 
time, curtailed his pastoral visiting, and took his 
thoughts away from the work of sermonizing. 
Therefore, his discourses depreciated in edge and 
point, and failed to interest and feed the congrega- 
tion. Still, the Church grew a little — more by in- 
herent vitality than by life infused from the pulpit. 

When Conference came on, it was agreed that as 
the Doctor was popular as a man, and it was inrcon- 
venient for him to move, we would take him another 
year. This was, accordingly, so done by the appoint- 
ing power, and, without much jostle in the ma- 
chinery, he resumed his place in the pulpit and in 
the hired parsonage: in the former as God's embas- 
sador to dying men, as Christ's minister to offer 
grace to sinners and comfort to believers; in the 
latter as the "Angel of the Church" in Sandburg, 
to go in and out before the people, to be a guide, a 
counselor, and an exemplar through the week. 

The current of events ran regularly for several 
months. Nothing occurred worthy to be noted as 
materially affecting our condition, except the loss of 
two or three valuable female members. They mar- 
ried " out of meeting," as the Quakers used to call 
it, and chose to go with their husbands rather than 
have a divided house. This is to be approved, where 
Christian character in the man and sound doctrine 
in his "faith and order" render the change no sacri- 
fice of principle. The Methodists, I believe, lose 
more members in this way than any other denomi- 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



193 



nation. I suppose the reason of this is that our 
Church is more liberal toward others than others 
are toward us. We declaim against sectarianism, 
and teach our children that saving religion is a mat- 
ter of the heart rather than of the name; hence, 
they readily change the name, when charity or pro- 
priety demands, without discarding their hereditary 
doctrine of a sound scriptural experience. I am 
sure that facts and figures, could they be collected 
and tabulated, would demonstrate the unsectarian 
liberality of Methodism in this regard, in singular 
contrast with the bigotry and prejudice inculcated 
by others. How far the tastes and habits of educa- 
tion of either the husband or wife ought to be 
merged into those of the other, is. a question to be 
solved on individual responsibility. When con- 
science is satisfied, and prejudice yields, and expe- 
rience is not contradicted, and peace and convenience 
are both promoted, let the change be made. 

Were I writing to beguile the tedium of leisure, 
or to indulge agreeable recollections, or to gratify 
my pride as a Methodist, or to feed self-laudatory 
reflections in Methodist minds, I should pass over 
in silence the remainder of this year's transactions; 
but, having undertaken to trace the current of Sand- 
burg Church through a given period — to show its 
influence on society, and the influence of society on 
its developments — the painful, no less than the pleas- 
ing, must be fairly and truthfully recorded. Dr. 
Roberts seemed to be moving along in the ordinary 
duties of his office, making no appreciable impres- 
sion on anj T body, when it was made known to cer- 
0 



194 



Our Church in Saxdburg. 



tain officials of his flock that serious accusations 
were made against his Christian character. These 
charges, whispered privately at first, were soon 
trumpeted upon the astonished ears of the people, 
and involved not merely his status as a minister, but 
his standing as an honorable, and even a decent, 
man. The mortification and dismay that came upon 
his flock, at this astounding revelation, cannot be 
described. With all our misfortunes, through more 
than two decades past, no such shame had made us 
blush before the faces of men; now, we were con- 
fronted by the brazen insolence of infidelity — we 
were jeered at by the scoffer — we were "the song of 
the drunkard." Never did a community of men act 
with more discretion than did the leading members 
of the Church in this emergency. They faced the 
outside world with calmness, encouraged the breth- 
ren to stand firm, and demanded an immediate in- 
_ vestigation — assuring Dr. Roberts of their sympathy 
and support till the alleged facts were proved. The 
Presiding Elder of the District was in attendance in 
a few days, with a committee of ministers, to inves- 
tigate the case. When the accusers were called 
upon to .make good their charges, they signally 
failed to substantiate a single one. One of the lead- 
ing items was withdrawn after the witness, intro- 
duced to prove it, had contradicted herself in several 
vital particulars, and made it evident that her testi- 
mony was an effort to repeat from memory a story 
dictated to her before. Other disgusting details 
damaged the prosecution by reason of their utter 
improbability. The committee found the accused 



Our Church in Sandburg. 195 



" not guilty" — their verdict was indorsed by a nearly 
unanimous public opinion; but the preacher's influ- 
ence was gone — they had taken away his strength; 
for a minister's strength, which he has in himself, is 
his character for uprightness: he must be blameless, 
of good report among men outside of the visible 
fold, so that whatever they say of his theory, or of 
his religion, they must have naught to say, truth- 
fully, against his manhood. So the New Testament 
teaches and enjoins. 

Though wholly vindicated, our preacher never re- 
covered his spirit of cheerfulness and self-respect. 
Having attempted to preach one time after the in- 
vestigation, he frankly informed his congregation 
that he should enter that pulpit no more. As the 
time was short till Conference, the place was sup- 
plied by one of the professors in the school for the 
few Sundays that remained. To him it was a happy 
release from an awkward and uncoveted responsi- 
bility when the time expired. 



196 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Twentieth and twenty-first years continued — Uniform teach- 
ing — Spiritism and ministering angels — A sermon — Sound 
doctrine proves churehship. 

UNIFORMITY of teaching in the same pulpit 
is a thing greatly to be desired. When one 
minister challenges the teachings of another, who 
has recently preached what he conceives to be the 
truth, it becomes a serious question — perplexes the 
minds of the hearers, and diminishes, more or less, 
the authority of all preaching. But what is to be 
done when a minister of known ability utters opin- 
ions which his brethren cannot accept? Must the 
pastor, for instance, be silent on the subject if a re- 
spected brother has expressed erroneous views in 
his pulpit? The course to be pursued should be 
dictated by the importance of the point of differ- 
ence: if the doctrine be an essential or a leading 
one in theology, and the views offered be materially 
at variance with commonly-accepted opinions, the 
error must be challenged, exposed, refuted; but it 
would be a most burdensome task for a pastor to 
correct every harmless or silly originality vended in 
his pulpit. A case of this sort came up in our his- 
tory: The president of Sandburg Institute preached 



Our Church in Sandburg. 197 



a sermon on the nature and offices of angels, in 
which he taught that the spirits of departed saints 
were the angels of the Bible — that they were con- 
stantly interested in human affairs, and frequently 
communicated with men, under divine direction, on 
matters connected with the invisible world. The 
vexatious question of Spiritism, involved in the 
knocks, thumps, raps, table-tippings, and involun- 
tary writings of mediums- — all under invisible influ- 
ence — was just beginning to attract general atten- 
tion; and it was thought by many that the revered 
president's discourse conceded too much to the 
claims of that revolting fallacy. So, in order that 
"the ministry might not be blamed/ 5 Professor 
Smith— having charge during the unexpired term 
of Dr. Roberts — felt it his duty to correct the erro- 
neous impression made by the angel-sermon of his 
worthy superior in the faculty. He therefore deliv- 
ered an exhaustive discourse. on the same subject. 
His arguments had a happy effect on the minds of 
his hearers, and his theory was accepted almost 
unanimously as the scriptural teaching on the ques- 
tion. As this effort to establish the people in sound 
doctrines, and to banish an error that has overthrown 
the faith of some, had thus a decided bearing on the 
history of Our Church, I must record an outline of 
the sermon. His text was Heb. i. 14, and the dis- 
course, in outline, about as follows: 

"Our knowledge of the spirit-world is derived 
solely from revelation. Reason has no foundation 
upon which to base a theory; conjecture is utterly 



198 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



fold of authority; imagination, however beautiful 
.ts creations, is to be accepted only as a dream. 
Human testimony is unreliable, because the witness 
has neither seen nor heard that whereof he affirms. 
No venturous Columbus ever discovered that far-off 
eoast, and, returning, brought back an account of 
its scenery and its inhabitants. No studious New- 
ton ever measured the circumference of that world, 
or fathomed its glorious atmosphere. No tireless 
Humboldt ever ascended its mountains, or threaded 
its valleys, and returned to publish its beauties and 
its mysteries. Once, and once only, was a mortal 
caught up thither and permitted to return to earth : 
' he heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful 
for a man to utter 5 (2 Cor. xii. 4). But of the ex- 
istence of that fair country God has given us ample 
evidence, and something of its inhabitants he has 
seen proper to make known; for we have in the 
Scriptures allusions, declarations, illustrations, in- 
forming our understanding and limiting our opin- 
ions as far as we are capable of apprehending a state 
so high above our present condition ; and at sundry 
times in past ages its citizens visited our globe, were 
seen by mortal eyes, their voices were heard by mor- 
tal ears, and men felt the touch of angels' hands. 

" It is, therefore, not only lawful for us to know, 
but it is obligatory upon us to study, whatever God 
has revealed concerning this high order of his creat- 
ures — specially so, since it is clearly intimated that 
they are closely connected with God's people in this 
world, and are to be our fellow-citizens in that to 
come. I will, therefore, discuss — 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



199 



"I. The nature of angels. 

"The name signifies 6 messengers ' — highly intel- 
ligent messengers, sent by God to execute specific 
missions on earth — 6 ministering spirits, sent forth 
to minister for them who shall be heirs of salva- 
tion. 5 Who and what are they? 

" Some people suppose, and some theologians 
teach, that the angels of Scripture are the glorified 
spirits of departed saints. That this is a groundless 
notion, a gratuitous assumption — not merely an un- 
scriptural, but an anti-scriptural, doctrine — is mani- 
fest from the following facts : 

"1. This order of heavenly beings is mentioned 
in Holy Writ before any man had died on earth. 
Examples : ' The cherubim, placed to keep the way 
to the tree of life' (Gen. iii. 24); 'All the sons of 
God shouted for joy' when God 'laid the corner- 
stone of the earth' (Job xxxviii. 7). Whose souls 
were these ? 

"2. In the first chapter of his Epistle to the He- 
brews, St. Paul compares Jesus Christ and angels, 
to show and prove the superiority of Christ : Christ 
took not the nature of angels, but the nature of 
man ; therefore, before his incarnation, he was neither 
angelic nor human; and therefore the angelic and 
the human are two distinct orders of God's creat- 
ures — angels are neither divine, like Christ, nor hu- 
man, like man. 

" 3. It is freely admitted that departed saints have, 
in a few instances, reappeared on earth; but this 
fact, recorded in Scripture, so far from justifying 
any confusion on this subject, is one of the strongest 



200 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



guards against error; for in every case a careful dis- 
tinction is made between the being who appears and 
any other order of God's creatures. They appear 
in propria persona, announced by their own name — 
as fully announced as to their mission, but never 
with the business of angels. In the transfiguration 
of Jesus (Luke ix. 30), Moses and Elias are declared 
to have appeared and talked with him. They were 
there in their own names — as a special favor to them 
— not to minister to Jesus, or to strengthen him, as 
angels did after the forty-days' fast in the wilderness, 
and in the agony and bloody sweat in the garden, 
but solely to learn more than they yet knew about 
the mysterious God-man's struggles with the dark 
problem of redemption : ' They spake of his decease 
which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.' It is 
passing strange that men of sound mind and solid 
piety should ever have fallen into such erroneous 
views as those entertained by some about the mean- 
ing of Rev. xix. 10, where the angel is supposed to 
declare himself an ex-man. The language conveys 
no such an idea — is not susceptible of this interpre- 
tation: the angel declines John's worship, not be- 
cause he is or ever was a man, but because he is a 
servant of God — a creature — the fellow-servant of 
John, and of other prophets like John. To this 
corresponds the language of Paul, in Heb. xii. 22, 
23, where he carefully distinguishes the 'innumera- 
ble company of angels' from 6 the Church of the 
first-born, and the spirits of just men made perfect/ 
No two things are more clearly separated than these 
two orders of heavenly inhabitants. 



Our Church in Sandburg. 201 



" 4. In Luke xvi. 19-31, we read that direct appli- 
cation was made by a lost spirit to a glorified saint 
that the soul of a man should be sent from heaven 
to earth with information concerning the disem- 
bodied state, and a message of warning and expos- 
tulation to certain wicked men yet in the flesh ; and 
the application was refused, for the reason that the 
mission would not accord with the established mode 
of divine instruction, and would, on natural princi- 
ples, be wholly fruitless. I cannot conceive on what 
principle of interpretation any man can construe 
this scripture so as to blend and confound the func- 
tions of ' ministering spirits' with the powers and 
privileges of ' the spirits of just men made perfect.' 
It plainly teaches that departed spirits are not per- 
mitted to come to earth on such missions as are 
committed to the hands of angels, and for a purpose 
already met by authentic revelation. 

" Therefore, we are forced to conclude that angels 
are a separate, distinct, and peculiar order of God's 
creatures, whose abode is in heaven, who ' always 
behold the face of our Father' — a rank of beings 
above man — pure, sinless, wise, and powerful. 

" They are sinless. J esus calls them ' holy angels.' 
Their condition, their nature, was originally pure, 
and they 'have kept their first estate.' A wisdom 
superior to man's is attributed to them in the Bible; 
so signify the words of the wise woman whom Joab 
sent to David to compass the return of Absalom : 
< And my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of 
an angel of God, to know all things that are in the 
earth.' (2 Sam. xiv. 20.) Such was, manifestly, 
9* 



202 



Our Church m Sandburg. 



the popular faith of the ancient Church on this 
subject. 

" Their might, power, strength, are spoken of in 
Revelation as distinguishing them from weak and 
feeble men. David declares that they ' excel in 
strength' (Ps. ciii. 20), and invokes them to 'bless 
the Lord 5 in strains louder and longer than men can 
utter. St. John saw 6 a mighty angel' take up a 
stone like a great millstone and cast it into the 
sea (Rev. xviii. 21), a feat of muscular force such 
as not even fable attributes to a giant's arm. 

" They are numerous. To meet all the demands 
of boundless empire requires vast numbers of ready 
and willing servants. Scripture does not contain a 
census of the heavenly citizens, but represents them 
as being almost countless in multitude. Read 2 
Kings vi. 16, 17, where Elisha asked the Lord to 
open his young man's eyes that he might see the 
host of celestial warriors who filled the mountains 
round about him. See, also, Dan. vii. 9, 10, where 
the prophet saw the Ancient of Days sit upon his 
throne, and ' thousand thousands ministered unto 
him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood be- 
fore him.' Jesus said that his Father could pres- 
ently give him more than twelve legions of angels — 
more than sixty thousand — to defend him from the 
malice of the Jews. 6 The chariots of God,' says 
David (Ps. lxviii. 17), ' are twenty thousand, even 
thousands of angels.' "What inconceivable multi- 
tudes of these ' ministering spirits ! ' 

"We have reasons for believing that there are 
grades and differences among angels. The titles, 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



203 



cherub, seraph, thrones, dominions, principalities, 
powers, and archangel, indicate that some are supe- 
rior to others in endowments — that some are above 
others in place, honor, and authority, in the king- 
dom of God. Precisely what these distinctions are, 
we do not know — it does not concern us to know, it 
does not become us to inquire. It is enough for 
us to know that they all ' behold the face of our 
Father,' and 'are all ministering spirits, sent forth 
to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.' 

"II. The office or functions of angels. 

" What worlds they visit, w T ith what missions they 
are charged to regions beyond our planet, is to us a 
perpetual secret. In relation to us, their business is 
that of servants in the house of God Almighty: 
6 they do his commandments, hearkening to the 
voice of his word.' (Ps. ciii. 20.) 

" They never appeared on earth till sin had sep- 
arated man from God. Then began their ministra- 
tions — sometimes of wrath, more frequently of 
mercy to men. Cherubim kept the way of the 
tree of life at the east of the garden of Eden, lest 
man should 6 take of the tree of life, and eat, and 
live forever' in his fallen state. (Gen. iii. 22-24.) 
A destroying angel spread desolation and death 
over the land of Israel in punishment for David's 
pride. (1 Chron. xxi.) In the fifteenth and six- 
teenth chapters of Revelation we have a vivid de- 
scription of 6 seven angels having the seven last 
plagues,' in which was ' filled up the wrath of God.' 
These are a few examples of their ministry of 
wrath. 



204 Our Church in Sandburg. 

"Hagar, faint and despairing in the wilderness, 
was called, comforted, and instructed by an angel. 
(Gen. xxi. 17.) Another visited Manoah, and in- 
formed him of the future birth and greatness of 
Samson. (Judges xiii.) Another assured Paul, 
when in danger of shipwreck, saying, 'Fear not, 
Paul.' (Acts xxvii. 24.) But more particularly 
they are employed in three departments of God's 
economy: 

"1. They made known to men, in the early 
ages, God's will and purposes. They visited Abra- 
ham, and informed him of the impending doom of 
Sodom, warned Lot of his imminent danger, and 
rescued him from the fated city. (Gen. xviii. 19.) In 
Jacob's dream they showed him the connection that 
earth has with heaven (Gen. xxviii.); explained to 
Balaam the future greatness of Israel (Num. xxii.) ; 
often spoke to the prophets, unfolding divine truths 
to them, as in the first chapter of Zechariah, and as 
'Gabriel informed Daniel, and talked with him, and 
gave him skill and understanding.' (Dan. ix. 22.) 
In like manner was the birth and mission of John 
the Baptist foretold to Zacharias, and the birth 
of Jesus announced to the Virgin Mary, by 'an 
angel of the Lord.' 

"2. They developed the grand scheme of re- 
demption, of which the Levitical law was the first 
visible exponent — it was received 'by the dispo- 
sition of angels.' (Acts vii. 53.) 'Cherubim over- 
shadowing the mercy-seat' in the old dispensation 
is explained by St. Peter to signify their deep in- 
terest in the plan of salvation. (1 Pet. i. 12.) They 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



205 



' rejoice over one sinner that repenteth,' (Luke xv. 
10) ; ministered to Christ in the wilderness, and in 
the garden ; announced his resurrection to Mary; at- 
tended, in cloudy squadrons, his ascension to heaven; 
and foretold his second coming to earth. (Acts i. 10.) 

"3. They execute God's designs in providence. 
Scattered all through the Bible we find wonderful 
stories of their presence and supernatural aid. God 
sent his angel before Abraham's servant in his jour- 
ney from Canaan to Mesopotamia (Gen. xxiv. 7) ; 
' an angel of the Lord' fed and cheered Elijah under 
the juniper-tree in the wilderness, when he fled 
from the wrath of Jezebel (1 Kings xix. 5) ; shielded 
from harm the three Hebrew martyrs in the fiery 
furnace (Dan. iii.) ; accompanied Daniel into the 
lions' den, and protected him from the violence of 
the ferocious beasts (Dan. vi.) ; instructed Cornelius 
how to learn the way of salvation (Acts x.) ; deliv- 
ered Peter from prison, and from the fury of his 
foes (Acts xii.) ; directed Philip's way on a success- 
ful preaching tour (Acts viii. 26) ; carried Lazarus 
to Abraham's bosom (Luke xvi. 22); are largely 
concerned in all the affairs of the Church ; and will 
attend and officiate at the general judgment. (Matt, 
xiii. 30.) 

" Their ministration is perpetual till the end of 
time — not visibly, as formerly, but really and verily. 
As long as sinners repent, they will rejoice; as long 
as saints suffer and labor here, ministering spirits 
will be present to aid them. There is no reason 
why they should not come— there is no intimation 
that they do not come — now, as in olden days, 



206 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



to perform their functions of mercy and favor to 
men. How precious, how full of comfort, is this 
glorious doctrine of the Bible!" 

I have given this outline sketch to show how 
jealous Sandburg Station was of its character for 
orthodoxy. The sermon, before mentioned, which 
hinged so closely upon modern spiritism, gave pain 
to some, and unsettled the faith of others; this 
plain, practical, and scriptural exposition of the 
doctrine of "ministering spirits" removed all diffi- 
culties, and was generally accepted as the truth. 
From that date forward Our Church was never 
troubled by the unnatural and unchristian theory 
of spiritism. There is no surer evidence of the 
apostolic constitution of a Church than this de- 
votion to sound doctrine, this hatred of heresy, this 
prompt rejection of all mere theorizing outside of 
plain scriptural declaration. "The Bible is the re- 
ligion of Protestants" against the superstitions of 
popery, and against modern innovations on "the 
faith once delivered to the saints." We were al- 
ways afraid of teachers who brought "any other 
doctrine," neither bidding them Godspeed nor heed- 
ing their graceless declamations. 



Our Church in Sandburg. 207 



CHAPTER XX. 



Twenty-second year — Brother Edmunds, station-preacher— 
Bright sword with dull edge—No execution— Social meet- 
ings and Sunday-school— Bad health— Place supplied — Pas- 
tor's labors needed — Church-music: organ or no organ — Old 
Methodism invoked — Charity is kind — Losses and additions 
—The Waters family — The Fitz- James connection— A star 
that shone and expired in shame. 

npIIE Rev. H. T. Edmunds succeeded to the 



J- pastorship. He was a well-favored gentleman, 
on the vernal slope of life, pretty well educated in 
the ordinary curriculum, and brought with him a 
spotless name and an accomplished wife. The field 
upon which he entered afforded a fine opportunity 
for a pastor to make reputation: it needed culture, 
and was in a condition to respond readily to diligent 
tillage. Brother Edmunds had the talents requisite : 
there were very few better minds in the town; he 
had, naturally, a clear perception of truth, and often 
a felicitous mode of expression; but, after all this, 
he did not succeed. He was a riddle. None doubted 
his piety, none questioned his intellectual ability, 
but none could boast of his success. There was 
something lacking : he would preach a good sermon, 
and round it off blunt and pointless, so it would 
hurt nobody; he would begin to utter a fine thought, 




208 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



but manage to snatch away its beauty just at the 
end of the sentence; he would appear as if about to 
smite error with a sledge-hammer, and raise the 
weapon so high and bring it down with such vehe- 
mence that you would listen for the dying groans 
of his crushed and ruined antagonist — but just at 
the critical moment he would break the fall; or sus- 
pend the force, or soften the blow, so as to do no 
execution. I suppose the reason of all this was 
found in his mental habits. He read trash — fiction, 
magazine literature, and newspapers. If he studied 
seriously and deeply one hour, nobody knew it. 
His sermons, therefore, were chaffy, vapid, dry. 
There was no more freshness in them than in the 
story of "the house that Jack built." Hence, the 
Church did not grow under his hand, neither in num- 
bers nor in grace. "We kept together, however, and 
maintained our ground tolerably well. The social 
meetings were attended with some punctuality, and 
Sunday-school flourished handsomely. 

Perhaps some of the preacher's delinquencies, as 
a student and as a pastor, were due to his health. 
This was not vigorous; the climate did not agree 
with his constitution, or, may be, as was suggested, 
he was too inactive — took too little outdoor exercise, 
had too small a stock of "leg theology," to keep up 
a high state of physical vitality. To crown the 
trouble, his health failed entirely — a long and criti- 
cal spell of sickness completely prostrated his ener- 
gies, early in the summer, so that he was. off duty 
till about a month before Conference. The old re- 
course was had to the school for pulpit supply, which 



Our Church in Sandburg. 209 



did well enough on Sunday, but could not meet the 
demands for pastoral attention to the flock. Preach- 
ing is certainly a large part of a minister's work — 
it is the chief means ordained for the instruction of 
the ignorant, the edification of believers, and the 
conversion of sinners — and blessed is the man who 
can preach with spirit and power; but this is far 
from being the whole duty of a pastor, and thrice 
blessed is the man who can preach in the pulpit on 
Sunday and preach in the people's houses during 
the week. This lack of service none could supply 
at this time, and the charge suffered to the extent 
of the deficiency. 

About this time the vexatious question of Church- 
music was mooted, and created no small stir among 
the members. Our membership had so changed, 
by removal of older persons and the marriage of 
younger ones, that our leader found himself strait- 
ened for available support in the service of song. 
An instrument, to lead and control, was suggested 
as the only adequate remedy, and the sense of the 
Church was sought on the question. A special 
meeting was held — the proposition was discussed in 
all its bearings. Parties stood about this way: A 
large majority were for the organ, considered it nec- 
essary in order to keep our young people regular in 
their attendance, since both the Presbyterian and 
Episcopal Churches had instruments, which were 
attracting our children to their houses on all con- 
venient occasions; besides, they argued, the lawful- 
ness of the thing for Christians was not an open 
question, being decided by ancient and approved 



210 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



usage, and by the almost universal practice of Chris- 
tendom in modern times. Properly managed, they 
said, it would put us abreast with the progressive 
ideas of the day, and prove to be a most delightful 
and profitable adjunct to our devotions. And since 
we had among us a number of ladies who were ac- 
complished performers, we could organize a choir 
wholly free from the objectionable presence of a 
hired organist of doubtful morals, and bring into 
practical use all the educated musical talent in the 
Church, which was now silent for want of instru- 
mental accompaniment. A second party appeared, 
and took half-way ground, saying: We see no spec- 
ial harm in the organ — it is a dumb machine till 
operated by human skill, and a tune is a tune, 
whether played or sung; so that we discern no 
moral feature in the question of an instrument 
which does not equally inhere in the whole question 
of sacred song; therefore, we agree for those who 
want an organ to secure and use one, provided all 
are satisfied, and no strife or contention follow. Up 
to this point our way seemed clear — no opposition 
appeared; so the vote was pronounced unanimous, 
and the instrument was procured. But two or three 
most excellent brethren, after studying the matter 
over a day or two, came to the conclusion that a 
horrible sacrilege was committed, that old Method- 
ism was dishonored, that the Church was ruined. 
They averred that "Young America" had usurped 
authority over God's heritage, forsaken or ignored 
the worthy customs of the fathers, run wildly after 
"the vain pomp and glory of the world,'*' and in- 



Our Church in Sandburg. 211 



stalled the devil in the house of the Lord. Here 
was a contretemps most unwelcome. The proposers 
of this change had not counted the cost of meeting 
such violent and relentless opposition. To argue 
was in vain— every good reason in favor of the new 
arrangement was met by the plea of " old Method- 
ism, modern innovation/' and so on. " You began," 
said the objectors, "some years ago to forsake the 
old paths, when you discontinued lining out the 
hymns, and supplied the seats with books instead; 
now, you want to silence the congregation, and give 
up the whole work of praise to a few self-conceited 
upstarts; and what your next progress will be, the 
Lord only knows." There was no avoiding the 
issue — it was simply "to be or not to be." The op- 
position was deaf to entreaty, regardless of argu- 
ment, implacably offended. "What shall be done? 
was asked and repeated many times before it was 
satisfactorily answered. Finally, charity came to 
the rescue — the majority agreed to yield their pref- 
erences to the wishes of the very small minority; 
and so they quietly removed the instrument, fell 
back on their former resources, and waited for a 
better day. 

Mention was made a few chapters back of changes 
produced by the migratory disposition of the people. 
At the period now under review, our Church-popu- 
lation suffered very marked modification. Of the 
old original membership very few remained. The 
Gliddon family have all disappeared; some are dead, 
others removed to distant parts. In the room of 
these and others came strangers from adjoining 



212 Our Church in Sandburg. 



counties and States, presented certificates of mem- 
bership, and became more or less conspicuous in 
current affairs. Notable among these was a large 
family-connection by the name of "Waters — four 
brothers, with young and growing households. 
They were all merchants, were all men of business 
capacity and religious zeal, and have, by the time 
now under notice, taken high position in our com- 
munion. They all, with the exception of one brother 
who died soon after settling in Sandburg, remained 
among our leading members for many years, and 
illustrated by consistent lives the power of grace to 
conform the laws of life to the laws of God. Good 
men and true in the house of the Lord were Wil- 
liam, George, and Lewis Waters. They were ex- 
amples of public spirit, paid liberally to support the 
pastor, gave freely to the missionary cause, and were 
regarded far and near as the substantial men of the 
country. Colonel Moser, a brother-in-law of theirs, 
accompanied them, and, though he was somewhat 
cold in religion and slack in duty, he was a patriotic 
citizen, and munificent in the use of his money; and 
his wife was an " elect lady" in all things pertaining 
to the cause of Christ. She loved the Church with 
a highly intelligent devotion, dispensed an elegant 
and refined hospitality in her house, and made the 
lowliest aspects of daily religion beautiful and at- 
tractive. Noble woman! She has since gone to 
her reward — a glorious reward, if virtue triumphs 
after death : the savor of her name is a perpetual 
blessing. 

Another family-connection, consisting of three or 



Our Church in Sandburg. 213 



four branches, came from another State, and settled 
in and around Sandburg. They were all farmers, 
purchased an extensive tract of land, owned an am- 
ple number of slaves, and planted cotton on a large 
scale. They had been trained in the early school of 
Methodism; and as some of the old folks, who had 
seen the heroic days of its struggles and triumphs, 
were yet living, the tone of piety in this family was 
set to the key-note of those lively and historic times. 
They swelled the aggregate of our spiritual strength 
appreciably, and, along with the Waters connection, 
gave decided social prominence to our communion. 
Among these, I mention with pleasure old Brother 
Fitz-James, a local preacher of ability, though rap- 
idly passing down toward the sunset. He did not 
long survive — died in peace, and was gathered to 
his fathers. Mr. Points, a diffident, shrinking man, 
but a worthy Christian, most appreciated by those 
who knew him best, made a useful member, and with 
his lovely family adorned our social ranks. Judge 
"Worth was one of this number, also— not a man of 
shining abilities, but of very solid qualities. He 
filled efficiently various offices in the Church, from 
time to time, as occasion demanded his services. 
But the most conspicuous and most widely known 
of this number was Wilson Peters. He was the 
youngest man among these new members, and, be- 
cause of his highly vitalized constitution and popu- 
lar address, was foremost in affairs from the first. 
He filled every office known to the lay membership 
— class-leader, steward, trustee, Sunday-school su- 
perintendent — sometimes held all of them at once; 



214 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



and it was wonderful to see with what versatility lie 
could adapt his flexible talents to the varied duties 
of these departments, and how successfully he 
worked at every post assigned him. Besides, he 
was among the grandest singers I ever heard; his 
voice was strong, musical, cultivated — could drop 
from air to bass, or rise from bass to air, glide ofi* 
into alto or catch the tenor-key, according as either 
part needed strengthening or guiding in a perform- 
ance. In public prayer he certainly was gifted, elo- 
quent, at times deeply pathetic, and always appar- 
ently earnest and devout. But Brother Peters had 
a constitutional fault that detracted from his influ- 
ence: he loved fun, sought amusements, was restless 
and unquiet when not engaged in something excit- 
ing; and the misfortune was that one excitement 
seemed to answer his purpose as well as another. 
A fox-hunt was just as acceptable as a camp-meet- 
ing; a crowd of gaping loafers to laugh at his anec- 
dotes pleased him as well as a class-meeting; a fish- 
fry, with rude and profane companions, readily took 
the place of a Sunday-school picnic. He grew 
more and more noisy as a social talker, told smutty 
jokes, and related disgusting stories in filthy and 
even blasphemous language, and finally adopted 
card-playing as an innocent qjmisement. Of course, 
all this was painful to the brethren, as far as it was 
generally known; but he adroitly kept the worst 
features of his downward course concealed from 
them a long time, and thus went on serving the 
Lord, in form at least, on Sundays, and the devi] 
during the week — each with equal avidity and gusto, 



Our Church in Sandburg. 215 



to all appearances. It was like the fall of a thunder- 
bolt from a fair sky, to the large majority of the 
people, when it was publicly announced that Brother 
Peters had been detected in a most shameful and re- 
volting sin. He made at first some show of right- 
eous indignation, and attempted to wear the face of 
injured innocence; but the proof of his guilt was 
too positive to allow denial — he pleaded guilty, and 
was formally expelled from the Church. It was a 
prodigious fall. Those from whom his real life had 
been concealed reluctantly believed him guilty— 
those who had known his habits of frolic and amuse- 
ment scarcely could admit his criminality; but his 
own monstrous and barefaced confessions silenced 
all doubts, and poor Peters went down to the moral 
sewerage of character where he had really for years 
belonged. 

The terrible apostasy of this wretched man was 
overruled for good in one respect : it was a warning 
to young men to shun the certain tendency of idle 
talk, foolish jesting, filthy conversation, and recrea- 
tions of questionable propriety ; and specially did it 
plead with them to shun the companionship of the 
wicked, as it showed how surely this leads down the 
groveling pathway of vice to the dark and slimy 
bottom of hopeless corruption. 



216 Our Church in Sandburg. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



Twenty-third, twenty-fourth., and twenty-fifth years — A season 
of repose — Brother Trigg's two years — Suspected, approved 
— Eccentric habits — Good w T ife — Johnnie — Brother Trigg 
sings — A new hat — "That's a fact!" — Eloquence — Une- 
qually yoked — -Brother Windham takes the station — Is a 
stormer, in spite of his faults — Good work — Stewards in 
trouble — Eepairs needed — Ways and means: What and 
which ? — School declining — Something must be done. 

"TTTTTH scarcely a ripple on tlie surface, our cur- 



▼ ▼ rent history glides along now for about three 
years. ]STo very great prosperity, no marked mis- 
fortunes, distinguish this period of peace. It was 
a time when the country was quiet, and a profound 
repose reigned over all departments of State and 
religion. 

Two different pastors — both good men and true — 
served our station during these years ; and the his- 
tory of their pastorate is little more than a descrip- 
tion of the men. The Eev. W. J. T. Trigg admin- 
istered affairs two years. Brother Trigg was a 
native of a higher latitude, and for this reason was 
a novelty in our town. Many of the younger peo- 
ple had never seen a Pennsylvanian, and therefore 
looked with curious eyes upon a man from a State 
with such a long and pompous name ; and moreover, 




Our Church in Sandburg. 217 



there was, just at this date, certain vague suspicions 
centered on all visitors from the free States. It re- 
quired some time to convince a few patriotic citizens 
that Brother Trigg was not an abolitionist in dis- 
guise. Prudence and waiting cured this ill; for no 
better man ever dwelt in Sandburg,, no holier min- 
ister ever entered our pulpit, than Brother Trigg; 
and this became so evident that all who suspected 
guile at first were afterward ashamed of their preju- 
dice. "We thought he was 'all right' from the 
first," they said, "but then it's well enough for peo- 
ple to have their eyes open tKese days." It is won- 
derful how knowing some folks are in post factum 
matters; they remind us of Brother Crostie, who 
got such a clear " foresight into what has taken place." 

Our preacher, by his gentleness, amiable disposi- 
tion, blameless walk, seasonable conversation, cheer- 
ful gravity, and spiritual sermons, won the confi- 
dence of outsiders and the cordial love of his flock. 
We rejoiced in having, to go in and out before us, a 
high and true model of a Christian minister, "in all 
things showing himself a pattern." The Church 
rallied around him, and he led them in the high- 
way of life. 

Brother Trigg had peculiarities which sometimes 
raised a laugh, but they were all so innocent as to 
create an interest for the man rather than a cavil at 
his faults. He would lose his gloves, drop his hand- 
kerchief, leave his umbrella, and forget where he 
had started to go: absent-mindedness was his evil 
genius. Professor Smith used to say: "I dislike to 
sit in the pulpit with Trigg; he invariably borrows 
10 



218 Our Church in Sandburg. 



my handkerchief, and as invariably keeps it, till 
Sister T. finds it in his Snnday-coat pocket, and 
washes and returns it." His mind was abnormally 
devoted to mathematics. I never could exactly see 
the affinity between theology and the symbols of a 
problem ; but our preacher found this affinity, and 
in preparing for his pulpit would spend whole days 
over an abstruse question in analytical trigonometry, 
covering sheet after sheet of foolscap with hiero- 
glyphic scribbling. This diligence was invariably 
rewarded by rich discoveries, and he would go from 
this singular exercise to the pulpit with his face all 
aglow with the good and the grand involved in his 
text, and dispense the truth with an ardor and a 
clearness truly impressive and really edifying. 

The preacher's wife was his guardian-angel. She 
was a most admirable woman, and would have been 
largely useful in the community, but all her time 
and all her talents were absorbed in taking care of 
her absent-minded husband and managing her little 
boy, Johnnie. The boy had all his pa's idiosyncra- 
sies, intensified by the restiveness of childhood, and 
enlarged by the hot-house culture of a blind mater- 
nal idolatry; hence, he kept matters up to high- 
pressure mark — monopolized his mother when they 
were at home together, and monopolized her and 
everybody else when they were out visiting. One 
of the questions I never could answer is this : How 
do some mothers succeed so perfectly in making 
their children a torment to themselves and a loath- 
ing to their friends? They strip the little fellow of 
all the lovely innocence of childhood, and invest 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



219 



him with, the revolting enormities of a totally per- 
verted disposition. Such children inevitably suffer 
the penalties of parental guilt, either in a premature 
decay or in a life-long conflict with the evils of their 
training. Poor Johnnie! I used to wonder what 
would become of him, and now I wonder what has 
become of him ; for all this was long enough ago 
for the seed then sown to have brought forth their 
legitimate fruits. 

I forgot one of Brother Trigg's oddities, and must 
call him up again and tell it: he thought he could 
sing, but we knew he could not — he would try his 
skill occasionally on a solo, specially at those very 
times when we wanted him to be silent; but the 
performance was entertaining, because of the singu- 
lar blending of natural sounds in one voice: by nat- 
ural sounds I mean those of the frog, the crow, and 
the midnight cat. Still, everybody loved the good 
man — even the wildest sinners and the fiercest sec- 
tarians about Sandburg treated him with free-and- 
easy kindness ; and when he was about to start to 
Conference, a wicked merchant brought him a fine 
hat, and said: "Here, parson, I want you to wear 
this hat to Conference; and you must be a good 
man, and try to get to heaven." By the way, there 
was more than one point in this present — a hat was 
Trigg's pet. Conscious of his weakness in the mat- 
ter of gloves, handkerchiefs, and umbrellas, he held 
on to his hat with a determination that almost com- 
pensated for the loss of other articles. His boots 
might be muddy, his coat was sure to be dusty and 
linty if his wife happened to miss her daily exercise 



220 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



on it; but his hat was always shiny, and he could 
twirl it and manipulate it in company with a skill 
that must have been attained by long and diligent 
practice. 

A few days before Conference, Brother Lewis 
Waters called at the Institute to see Professor Smith 
about next year's arrangements. " Brother Smith," 
said he, "you are going to Conference, and we want 
you to see the Bishop and try to get us the right 
sort of sl preacher. Brother Trigg is, everybody 
knows, a good man, but — " "Stop, right there," 
said Smith ; " you have named the rarest commodity 
on earth : if you know, and if all the brethren know, 
that we have that scarce article, a good man, why 
not keep him?" "That's a fact," replied "Waters, 
scratching his head thoughtfully, and looking be- 
wildered — "that's a fact." So, there the subject 
dropped, and Brother Trigg, "the good man," was 
returned to our station. No large demonstration 
celebrated this event, but a feeling of satisfaction 
pervaded the congregation : the Church felt safe in 
the hands of a good man. 

During his second year there was nothing very 
different from the smooth current of the first. The 
Church grew, perhaps, more compact and united; 
a few additions were made, and we lost two good 
members by death. One of these was a plain, work- 
ing man, who fell a victim to consumption. He 
talked beautifully on his sick-bed — spoke to his 
friends about the comforts of religion, the support- 
ing grace of Christ, and the near prospect of endless 
life. If passion is the soul of eloquence, love is the 



Our Church in Sandburg. 221 



most eloquent of the passions; and hence the sim- 
plest minds, when filled with pure, heavenly love, 
feel the grandest emotions, and express them in the 
strongest language. I have listened to faintly- 
uttered thoughts of dying Christians so sublimely 
eloquent that Bascom might have borrowed them 
with profit: clothed with the thunder and majesty 
of his voice and gesture, they would have shaken 
the multitude. The other death was a sad one — a 
comparatively young mother, wife of a drunken 
husband, and mother of two children. "While she 
lay pining in her chamber, he drank deeper and 
deeper, till, overcome by excess, he took his bed in 
another room, tortured to agony by an evil con- 
scidfice and an abused and ruined body. He sank 
rapidly, and died a death of unutterable horrors, 
while his poor stricken w T ife gasped for breath and 
prayed for his salvation on her dying-couch. She 
had hope, but no joy, in this awful hour. We 
thought her mind was so occupied with the dreadful 
fate of her husband and the gloomy prospects of 
her doubly-orphaned children, that she could not 
think of herself. "Unequally yoked" in life, I 
thought their fresh graves looked unlike in the 
cemetery : there was some brightness about hers — 
his looked as forbidding as despair. It was a som- 
ber funeral. Many Christian men felt keen regrets 
that they had not labored more energetically for 
poor Dunker's rescue and salvation ; but his descent 
was so rapid that he was gone before we knew his 
danger. 

The reader will readily sympathize with the regret 



222 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



I feel in passing from the mild and loving ministry 
of Brother Trigg to the boisterous and stormy decla- 
mation of his successor, the Rev. Ebenezer "Wind- 
ham. A native of the sunny South, his horoscope 
seemed to have been governed by the central orb of 
the heavens rather than some less fiery sign of the 
zodiac. He embodied all action and all passion in 
delivery — was even excited and vehement in con- 
versation. I used to wonder that his glowing brain 
and heated nerves had never been vulcanized into a 
less elastic tension, but could never discover any 
waste of energy or failure in tenacity. He was a 
widower when he first came to Sandburg, but soon 
changed this condition for a better. His gentle 
bride soothed his excitable temperament somewhat. 
He was too intensely enthusiastic to be entirely 
cured — he might begin never so moderately, and 
bear down on the brakes never so heavily; it was 
no use : when the steam was up the train had to 
move, and it went with a scream and a roar becom- 
ing the " lightning express." 

Let not the reader infer that I am making light 
of my preacher. No ! But I undertook to write a 
history, and history means truth. The just demand 
of friendship is, "Love me, in spite of niy faults;" 
and if a Christian minister may not file this plea in 
the court of Church-opinion, he stands a poor chance 
for a favorable verdict. Indeed, we all did love 
Broth Windham. He was as guileless as Nathan- 
ael, and as bold as Nathan — cheered on the Lord's 
people with trumpet-notes of heroism, and rebuked 
the laggard and reproved the wicked with stormy 



Our Church in Sandburg. 223 



and withering invective. True, we sometimes smiled 
at his lawless gesticulation — more frequently cringed 
under his wild vociferations — but we loved him in 
spite of these, for he was an excellent man and a 
sound preacher. In disciplinary matters, Brother 
Windham was uncommonly faithful. The motto, 
"Evil-doers shall be cut off," moved him to use the 
pruning-knife. He made some timorous members 
go to class-meeting : they fell in love with the insti- 
tution, and were among the most faithful and regu- 
lar attendants thereafter. The Church grew, to a 
limited extent, under this vigorous culture. There 
was a short revival, whose fruits swelled our roll of 
worthy members. It must be confessed, however, 
that Brother Windham's vehemence frightened 
away a few timid and nervous persons. It was un- 
fortunate that he could not "become all things to 
all men." One way was his capital stock — where 
that was below par he was bankrupt. 

JSTot for a long time had there been any trouble in 
the matter of expenses: why the stewards were 
straitened this year, I scarcely can conceive. Per- 
haps the price of bo^ard had gone up slightly, I 
know that one good-paying member had moved 
away, and that about this time a bank broke and 
left batches of useless notes in the hands of our 
moneyed men; and perhaps the stewards, being in 
perplexity about their own affairs, had neglected 
official duty. Whatever the cause was, the trouble 
was a mortifying reality, and required no small 
amount of worry to bring matters out even. They 
made their assets reach their liabilities, after a season 



224 Our Church in Sandburg. 



of anxious effort, and were heartily ashamed of a 
state of things which was not usual with them — 
which is always disgraceful to a Church. This, 
however, is anticipating a few months. Let us re- 
turn. 

"The rains descended, and the winds blew, and 
beat upon" our house of worship — it was growing 
old, and needed repairs. The roof was considerably 
decayed, the painting had grown dingy, the carpets 
were threadbare, and time had left the shape and 
altitude of the pulpit entirely out of date. Brother 
Windham was not the man to be silent in such a 
state of things ; he zealously moved the brethren to 
rise and work. It was agreed that the gentlemen 
should attend to the external, and the ladies to the 
internal, repairs. For the former, there was but one 
line of action — to make up the necessary funds by 
subscription; for the latter, a less direct proceeding 
must be resorted to, in order to procure the money. 
So the old question of fairs, festivals, concerts, etc., 
was forced upon us again, and debated warmly in 
private circles and in a meeting specially called to 
consider ways and means. There was formidable 
opposition to a fair — it opened too wide a door for 
doubtful measures, and was voted down. A supper, 
to be prepared by the ladies and governed by a com- 
mittee of matrons, was finally accepted as possibly 
defensible on religious grounds, provided none of 
the excitements often admitted should be counte- 
nanced — that is, there was to be no auction, no 
"post-office," no courting-parlor. It was simply to 
be a supper, two dollars admittance, eat as much as 



Our Church in Sandburg. 225 



you please, enjoy yourself as well as you can, and 
go home without feeling, as people sometimes do, 
that you have been taken in and fleeced for the 
glory of God. A concert was also decided to be 
proper, to be arranged and controlled by our own 
musical ladies — of whom, by the way, we had a num- 
ber of the best in the State. After due preparation, 
both of these money-making occasions came and 
passed away — the results being highly satisfactory 
to providers and partakers, and specially gratifying 
in available profits. And the work was done — all 
done neatly and well. The greatest imaginable 
change in internal appearances was effected by mod- 
ernizing the old three-story pulpit ; it let the preacher 
down from his lofty perch to within reasonable range 
of his audience. "We all wondered how in the world 
we had endured the old-fashioned thing so long; 
and we thought may be Brother "Windham would 
not scream and bawl so loud now as he did before: 
it did not let him down a bit. 

It began to be talked among the leading men, 
during the latter half of this year, that the school 
was not in as sound a condition as it was supposed 
to be. The income had not been meeting expenses 
lately; the trustees had taken all available means to 
pay teachers, and had thus postponed important im- 
provements. This cramped state of the treasury 
had prevented certain additions to apparatus and 
other fixtures, so that other institutions were offer- 
ing a damaging rivalry ; and then, the trustees had 
borrowed a few thousand dollars, anticipating bet- 
ter days, and now were likely to be pressed for pay- 
10* 



226 Our Church in Sandburg. 

9 ment. The state of the case was simply bad — the 
property was in danger of alienation from the Con- 
ference. These facts depressed and "troubled the 
brethren, but we were in no condition to remedy 
them. Perhaps, we said, something will be done at 
Conference to place the school on a more perma- 
icnt basis. 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



227 



• 



CHAPTER XXII. 



Twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh years — Eetrograde motion — 
The case explained — Cheap preacher — Professor Smith, 
pastor — Too much to do — Something neglected — "What 
makes history? — Social perfection — Society "made for 
man" — Music again — An obstinate fight — Brother Waters 
favors — Brother S tandby opposes — Brother Fitz- James ex- 
plains — Organ voted in — Brother Hardwill implacable — Was 
prayer answered? — Hard work and poor pay. 

"TTT"HEN" the preachers came together at Con- 



▼ ▼ ference this fall, and compared notes, and 
reported statistics, it appeared that Sandburg Sta- 
tion was behind its former standard. This was a 
surprising revelation to the Bishop and his cabinet. 
It was, too, a mortifying fact, as it indicated a fall- 
ing off in the products of a hitherto fruitful field; 
for our station had long ago been set down as 
among the very best in the Conference. " What is 
the matter?" was more easily asked than answered. 
The Presiding Elder, who lived eighty or ninety 
miles from us, and, in his short visits, had failed to 
get an accurate knowledge of our present condition, 
inquired of Brother George "Waters, one of our 
stewards, who had gone up with the preacher, to 
look after the interests of the charge. Brother 
"Waters explained the matter, "and rehearsed it in 




228 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



order," about this way: "The simple truth is, we 
are not in as good a condition as we used to be. 
Some of our most liberal members have died; two 
or more have moved away; two have fallen from 
the faith, and are no longer of us; and, though 
we show an increase in numbers, we are really 
weaker in money matters than we have been for 
fifteen years. It pressed us to the last inch to 
square off our claims this fall. The few of us who 
are left would have met the demands after a strug- 
gle, but the fact is, we were all pressed. It has been 
a hard year, financially — the monetary affairs of the 
State are not at all satisfactory — and if we have 
next year as heavy expenses as we have had this, I 
do not see how we are going to meet them. We 
want you, if you please, to do the best you can for 
us. "We must have a good preacher, of course, but 
a heavy family will break us down. Try to lighten 
our load ,till we can recover our strength." 

This explanation and request being communi- 
cated to the cabinet, they began seriously to consider 
what ought to be done. They tell me that there 
are two problems in the work of a Bishop's cabi- 
net: Problem first — to find the preacher for a place; 
problem second — to find the place for a preacher. 
It was problem first, this time, that made the trou- 
ble — a good preacher, for a large place, at a small 
expense. 

At last a bright idea struck the Presiding Elder, 
and he hastened to compare views with the vigilant 
steward. " Brother Waters, how would vou all like 
to have Professor Smith for your preacher?" " Very 



Our Church in Sandburg. 229 



well, indeed; he can fill the pulpit and attend to 
matters generally, but, of course, cannot do much 
pastoral work. He is at home, too, and has a pretty 
good income from the school, and will not expect 
as much quarterage as a regular pastor. It will suit 
first-rate; let us have him." 

And so it was done. After the lapse of eleven 
years, the professor found himself nominally and 
officially pastor of Sandburg Station again. And I 
might as well say here what would have to be said 
at another place — the arrangement was so far sat- 
isfactory that it was continued through the next 
year. 

To understand the weight of work that fell upon 
Brother Smith, we must remember certain modifi- 
cations which had taken place in the resources of 
Our Church. The presidency of the school had 
changed hands, and the chair was now filled by a 
layman. Brother Smith was the only minister in 
the institution. Our local preachers had all gone 
to other fields: there was not one left of the valua- 
ble and available men whose presence was formerly 
such an adjunct to our clerical strength. The pas- 
tor, therefore, had all the pulpit labor to perform, 
together with the extra work of funerals, visiting 
sick, official and week-night meetings. This, added 
to his professional engagements in the school, occu- 
pied his whole time and attention. It was, in many 
features of the case, an impolitic arrangement. 
The people were well enough satisfied with the 
Sunday work. The professor was personally a pop- 
ular man, and held the Church together, and, to 



280 Our Church in Sandburg. 



some extent, built it up in word and doctrine; but 
the highest and most efficient functions of a pastor 
he could not perform. Many nameless items of in- 
terest were neglected — some, perhaps, went astray 
whose first wrong steps would have been discovered 
and corrected by a vigilant pastor; but, as far as 
possible, he watched, and instructed, and exhorted 
the flock with such energy and judgment that, at 
the end of two years, there was a small increase in 
numbers. 

That portion of a country's history which fur- 
nishes most matter for the pen of the writer is 
generally the most crowded with disasters. The 
machinations of treason, the tumults of rebellion, 
the tramp of armies, the bloody deeds of great cap- 
tains, the sack and ruin of proud cities, the desola- 
tion of populous countries, supply themes for the 
historian, and fill his pages with exciting descrip- 
tions; while whole eras of peace, of order, of the 
reign of law and loyalty, supply but scant material 
for his delineating pen. It is easier for a painter to 
display upon canvas the thundering cataract, or the 
plunging and foaming rapid, than to portray the 
peaceful current of the same stream through vales 
of flowery beauty and fields of prolific harvest. So 
I find in tracing the annals of Our Church — the 
periods that furnish most abundantly facts and oc- 
currences for record, are not those periods which 
were most fruitful of good, most Christian, most 
lovely; many things that fidelity to truth compels 
me to record, are the very things which I would 
wish had never transpired. The period now under 



Our Church in Sandburg. 231 

review was emphatically an era of peace. With 
one solitary exception — the music question, to which 
we must refer again — all was peace within our bor- 
ders, while our relations to other denominations, 
and to society at large, were on such sure and 
well-defined foundations as to be wholly barren of 
incident. 

In fact, about this time, and including a year or 
more before, and several after, there prevailed in 
our Christian population as faultless a state of social 
life as it has ever been my fortune to enjoy. There 
was a high order of intelligence among both the 
ladies and gentlemen of our communion, without 
the pomp and formality sometimes affected by lit- 
erary people. There was a most decided devotion 
to doctrinal and practical Methodism, which effect- 
ually repelled the insidious advances of proselyters. 
There was an open, republican frankness in social 
life, which rendered society free and easy in inter- 
course, and edifying in conversation. We were 
entirely free from the pompous, purse-proud 
aristocrat, and the canting, grumbling plebeian : all 
were on equality — an equality of merit; all felt 
how completely the Church leveled fictitious dis- 
tinctions; and seeing the grand advantages of this, 
our religious code, over the adventitious distinctions 
imposed by the world, all admired the beauty and 
confessed the excellency of our system. I am not 
able to say how far this condition would have pre- 
vailed if there had been really extremes of social 
elements in our communion. But in truth, except 
a few rich ones, who had grace enough to conceal 



232 Our Church m Sandburg. 



their pride, if they were proud, and a few very poor 
families, who avoided intercourse with the better 
sort — for reasons best known to themselves — our 
membership was remarkably equal in most of the 
qualities that guarantee position in good society. 
Hence we were happily free from envy, jealousy, 
tattling, backbiting — those devilish tempers that so 
often bring unrest to the soul, and strife and dis- 
traction to the Church. Truly the triumphs of 
Christianity are the triumphs of peace. "When 
there is less of the conspicuous and observable in 
its current affairs, it is then spreading its benign 
and invigorating influence out far and wide into the 
very fibers of social life. 

It may have occurred to the thoughtful reader 
that these details are leading me beyond the legiti- 
mate limits of my record. But he will find, on 
reflection, that the facts here presented come fully 
within the lines proposed to be observed. For what 
our Lord declared of the Sabbath is equally true 
of every other institution of his religion — " It was 
made for man.' 7 And since man is eminently a so- 
cial being, a religion which failed to reach and 
sanctify this attribute of our nature would have 
been both an irrational and an inadequate provision 
for his wants. Christ himself "adorned and beau- 
tified' 7 the simple walks of life, by mingling freely 
with the people in their homes, and showing an 
interest in their domestic welfare. And surely it is 
not only a lawful, but a highly commendable and 
even an imperative thing for his followers to imi- 
tate his example, by conforming the laws of society 



Our Church in Sandburg. 233 



to the higher laws of his religion. Can we form a 
purer conception of the universal reign of Christ 
than this, which carries him and his spirit into the 
homes of the country, and enthrones him ruler in 
social life? I record with profound satisfaction, 
.sHld with grateful recollections, the elevated social 
order that prevailed at this date among our people. 

The one exception to barrenness of events in 
these years was, as before stated, the reopening 
of the music question. This time the subject was 
agitated with earnestness and determination on both 
sides. Those in favor of using an instrument in 
our public worship were more fully than ever re- 
solved on carrying out their views; while those 
who objected were more outspoken and relentless 
in their opposition. A meeting was called for the 
purpose of discussing and deciding the question. 
The pastor presided — counseled mutual respect 
for each other's opinions, charity for each other's 
prejudices, and a wholesome regard for the good of 
the cause of Christ — that care be exercised not 
to offend in debate by indulging in personalities in- 
stead of arguments, and that all present should 
remember in what house they were assembled, and 
in what great name they were about to act. Before 
direct action was proposed on the main issue a res- 
olution was offered that all should agree in advance 
to acquiesce in the decision of the majority, what- 
ever that might be. There was so much plausibil- 
ity in this proposition that it was unanimously 
accepted. Then some one presented a resolution 
" That it is right and expedient that we have instru- 



234 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



mental music in our public worship." This opened 
the question upon its merits, and the debate be- 
gan in good earnest. The resolution was advocated 
on sundry grounds: the lawfulness of the thing for 
Christian worshipers, since instruments were used 
in the ancient Church by divine appointment and 
with divine approval; the current experience of the 
Church universal, the organ being a universal ap- 
pendage to public worship throughout the Protest- 
ant world, and proving no clog nor hindrance 
to growth in grace and the conversion of sin- 
ners; and the expediency of our adopting it as 
a means of right worship, and of interesting our 
young people. This last argument was amplified, 
and very forcibly urged. " You send your daughters 
to school," said Brother William "Waters, "and 
give them the best musical education that money 
can buy and the country afford. They are taught 
there the principles of music, they learn to sing 
with an instrument, their vocal powers are trained 
by the notes of the piano or parlor organ, and thus 
all their ideas of singing are inseparably associated 
with instrumental music. How will you ever con- 
vince them that what is an accomplishment in 
the school and in the parlor is bad taste in the 
Church — that what is right all the week is a sin on 
Sunday? If we deliberately decide that it is wrong 
to sing hymns of praise to God, guided by the notes 
of an organ, we condemn the whole system of edu- 
cation, and vote ourselves abettors of a sin against 
our children's souls. The evil, if it is an evil, lies 
behind the question now before us, and embraces the 



Our Church in Sandburg. 235 



whole question of music in private homes, as well as 
ui the Church. But if a musical education is right, 
an accomplishment and an ornament, why discard its 
benefits from the public service of song? Why 
aiake this antagonism between our educational sys- 
tem and our religious devotions ? How can we ex- 
pect the young, who are taught what correct singing 
is, to hear a sweet tune robbed of its beauties by an 
untrained congregation without disgust? Let us 
vote the choir an instrument, to guide them and to 
lead the congregation." 

Brother Standby opposed the motion vigorously. 
He said we were doing well enough — that an organ 
was an innovation on old Methodism — that a choir 
with their note-books was bad enough, but with an 
organ they would expect to monopolize the singing, 
they would take in members merely because they 
had good voices, and not because they had pious 
hearts, and thus this whole part of public worship 
would be surrendered to a few vain and perhaps un- 
godly young people. All sorts of irreverence and 
levity would prevail, he predicted, in the choir. 
They would come together on Sunday, not to praise 
their Maker, but to gain the praise of the people — 
they would sing, and sing admirably, perhaps, but 
it would have no element of worship in it; for the 
stimulating motive would be " to be seen of men," 
and not to offer up devout thanksgiving and hom- 
age to Almighty God. Brother Standby was a 
good speaker, and his whole heart was thrown into 
his talk. Brother Fitz-James explained that no 
one wanted, nor would the advocates of the organ 



236 Our Church m Sandburg. 

permit, the choir to do all the singing — we only 
wanted a leader that would he loud enough to con- 
trol the multitude of voices, and at the same time 
to guide them correctly— and that nohod y would he 
invited to sins; in the choir who was not statedlv 
invited to sing in the congregation. "As for disor- 
der," he said, "if those who belong to the choir 
have not self-respect enough to behave themselves, 
the Church has the moral strength to enforce the 
laws of propriety. And as to the argument about 
old Methodism, that was more specious than real. 
It only meant that we had never had one here be- 
fore. Mr. Wesley was a great lover of fine Church 
music, his people in England used organs, and there 
are hundreds of them now in Methodist Churches — 
Churches as holy and as progressive as ours — all 
over the land.*' 

I will not attempt a farther sketch of the pros 
and cons. After all had said all they wished to say, 
the vote was taken and the resolution adopted al- 
most unanimously. Thus was the vexatious strife 
ended, except that Brother Hardwill, who would 
not attend the meeting, considered himself free from 
the promise to acquiesce, and free to say all the 
hard and harsh words that came into his unyielding 
head. The last time I saw him he was grumbling 
about the organ — called it "brazen-face," "Satan/* 
and other ugly names, and longed for the privilege 
of chopping it to pieces with an ax, and making a 
bonfire of the ruins. This, I suppose, he has never 
done. 

Toward the close of his' second year the teacher- 



Our Church in Sandburg. 237 



pastor made an appeal to the Church to "pray the 
Lord of the harvest that he would send forth labor- 
ers into his harvest.' 5 No long time thereafter two 
young men made known their desire to enter the 
ministry. They are now in the field — both are rep- 
utable and useful men. Was this an answer to 
prayer ? What will modern scientists say ? 

It will b'e remembered that the appointment was 
made for this and the preceding year for financial 
reasons. The Church had retrograded in ability to 
pay, but not in ability to appreciate the spoken 
word. To keep up the standard of pulpit attrac- 
tion, which had for so long maintained their re- 
spectability compared with other denominations, 
without incurring the expense usually connected 
with a preacher sufficiently advanced in life to have 
attained that standard, was the problem they strove 
to solve. It worked out badly in three respects, 
which I will set down without comment. 

1. The stewards, knowing that their preacher 
had a home and a living, grew careless without 
intending it — without feeling any want of good- 
will toward the pastor. It is so natural and so 
easy to put off duty when duty can be conveniently 
put off. 

2. The people, those who were called upon for 
quarterage, did not feel the obligation as pressingly 
as heretofore. One brother spoke the sentiment 
felt, perhaps, by others, when he said, " Why should 
I give my hard-earned money to Brother Smith? 
He makes more by his teaching than I do by my 
labor — he is worth more, now, than I am — I love to 



238 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



hear him preach, but that is his duty. I shaVt 
pay a cent of quarterage." Thus many lost sight 
of the idea— the gospel idea— of the close connec- 
tion between preaching and support. A modern 
word defines our condition — : we were financially de- 
moralized. 

3. The preacher was wounded. He thought his 
labor worth more than he received, but he was too 
humble, or too proud — which was it? — to say so. 
He felt, moreover, that his brethren had not prop- 
erly estimated his self-sacrifice, and it stung him to 
the quick. He knew, for I heard him say it, that 
he had injured the Church and damaged the next 
preacher by consenting to fill the station. They 
would not know how to go about supporting a pas- 
tor as a laborer worthy of his meat. 

Howbeit, in this he was slightly mistaken — or, 
at least, his prediction failed of realization by 
reason of a healthful reaction. Some minds per- 
ceive truth more distinctly when they see the op- 
posite error than when it is placed before them in 
it« own naked form. 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



239 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Twenty-eighth year — Dr. Easton, pastor — Big preacher — Five 
children — Litany ! —A business meeting — Great agony- 
Advanced ground— A parsonage — The Doctor's appearance 
and style — Couldn't talk — Didn't know the children — 
Union effort — Two only Churches— Pastor's wife needs im- 
proving — What is the matter ? 

TT1HE thunder and scream of the train brought 
-A- its customary crowd to the depot, one cool 
November evening, and among the waiting throng 
are assembled several thoughtful, anxious faces. 
They are well-known business men in Sandburg — 
well-known official men in Our Church. They have 
been talking over " What Conference will do for 
us," but had wisely sent no agent to lobby for an 
appointment. Now they expect Brother Smith 
on this train, and he will bring them the news 
Sure enough, he arrives, and, before hand-shaking 
is half done, they begin to "interview" him on the 
subject. "Who is our station-preacher?" "Rev. 
Dr. Easton." " What, the Dr. Easton who was for- 
merly professor in Blank College?" "The same 
man — he was stationed, you know, last year ir 
Williamstown." "Why, he is the biggest sort of a 
preacher — how about his family?" "He has a wife 
and four or five children — is considered among the 



240 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



ablest men in the Conference — no doubt you will 
all be delighted with him." " Four or five children ! 
Mercy on us ! what can be done with him ? " " That ? s 
for you to determine, brethren," replied Brother 
Smith. "Well, well!" said Brother Waters, "we 
must face the music. Let us have a meeting of the 
stewards to-night, and see what we can do." 

"Children are a heritage from the Lord — happy 
is the man that hath his quiver full of them," is the 
sentiment of David. " From a preacher who has a 
house full of them, good Lord deliver us," is the 
litany of too many Church-members. 

The stewards held their meeting that night, as 
Brother Waters suggested. It was a full meeting — 
all were present. It was a serious meeting, for all 
felt that a crisis was upon them. It was a business 
meeting: they were men who knew the price of 
supplies and the cost of living, who loved the 
Church too well to allow their pastor to be pinched 
and mortified by shabby arrangements for his fam- 
ily, and who knew how to grapple with financial 
difficulties when necessity forced them to action. 
It was a wise meeting : the fruits thereof remain to 
this day. 

After much earnest conversation, and the rejec- 
tion of this scheme and that suggestion, Brother 
William Waters — the best financier in the board, 
and as true a man and as loyal a Methodist as ever 
lived — delivered his opinions after this fashion : 

"Brethren, I have looked at this matter in all its 
bearings, and see but one way out of the difficulty — 
but one thing we can do: we must go right to work 



Our Church in Sandburg. 241 

and build a parsonage. I see you are surprised at 
this sudden and formal declaration. You might as 
well get used to it. We all ought to be surprised 
that we have never thought of this before; it should 
have been done long ago. But you say, We are not 
able to do it. I say, We are able; and if we have 
the mind and the heart to go about it, we never did 
any thing in our lives more easily than we can 
build a parsonage. Let us begin this business like 
we begin our own private business, and work at it 
as we do at our own, and we shall see how soon it 
will be done. Well, it will cost, to build such a 
house as we need and must have— a neat brick cot- 
tage, one story, four good family-rooms, with cook- 
room and servant's-room back — about two thousand 
dollars. And what is that paltry sum divided 
among the members of Sandburg Station? I am 
sure we spend more than that every year in foolish 
and needless self-indulgence. Here are seven of us — 
we can raise half the amount right here to-night, I 
am sure: then the balance will be easy, after the 
brethren understand the matter. It is the cheapest 
plan we can adopt. If we undertake to board Dr. 
Easton, we are stranded. Look at the figures : we 
can't find a private family that will take him — we 
must board him at the hotel — he will need two 
rooms — there are seven in all; seven times twenty 
are one hundred and forty — that is, it takes one 
hundred and forty dollars a month, which is six- 
teen hundred and eighty dollars a year — nearly as 
much as a parsonage will cost us. If we rent a 
residence for our pastor, we must pay at least three 
11 



242 Oue Church in Sandburg. 



hundred dollars for it, which is a loss of at least a 
hundred dollars, even if we borrow two thousand 
dollars at ten per cent. But this we shall not have 
to do. "We can raise every cent of the money, and 
pay for the house. Let us do this, and be done with 
this annual agony. Besides, the support of the 
station will be an easier job every other way. Our 
country brethren will send in supplies — fresh meats, 
butter, eggs, potatoes, a milch cow, etc., all which 
will make the pastor more comfortable, and relieve 
us of a world of trouble. What say you all, breth- 
ren, to my proposition?" 

There was but one thing to say, and they all said 
it: "We must have the parsonage." The plan 
pleased the whole Church as well as it did the stew- 
ards. The necessary sum was soon subscribed and 
the work contracted for — sooner than Brother 
Waters had predicted; and, as rapidly as workmen 
could ply their skill, the neat and cozy manse w T as 
pushed to completion. When the Doctor arrived, 
temporary arrangements were made for him till his 
home could be put in readiness — into which he 
moved in due time, amid the congratulations of the 
brethren. Let us now get better acquainted with 
our new pastor. His personnel was very unique — 
short, thick-set, dark complexion, shaggy brows, 
very black eyes, tolerably good features, unex- 
pressive face when in repose, restless, and quick in 
motion, a page rather than a walk when he moved 
about. His mental caliber was as singular as his 
physical — he grasped the outlines of a subject, but 
never analyzed its details; was satisfied, even sur- 



Our Church in Sandburg. 243 



feited,with a theme when once he had seen its gen- 
eral features. What he did with his mind, between 
these brief periods of outline -thinking, was hard 
to tell, for he seldom read a book. Occasionally he 
conned an old Greek or Latin text, and sometimes 
glanced hurriedly over the newspapers. His preach- 
ing was eminently suggestive. An attentive hearer 
would often lose the thread of the discourse while 
following the suggestive thoughts thrown out in 
huge, massive proportions by the speaker. To the 
unreflecting part of the congregation — those who 
want the preacher to do all their thinking for 
them — he seemed insufferably dull. There were 
occasions, however, when a flood of glowing thought 
would burst upon him, and thrill his whole frame 
with electric emotion ; then he poured forth strains 
of pealing and startling eloquence, which roused 
and transported his audience. It was marvelous to 
witness how quickly and calmly he could subside 
into moderate manner and cold, emotionless sen- 
tences after these passionate bursts of oratory. 
There w r ere no rolling billows lashing the shore, and 
falling gradually to peaceful rest, after the wild tem- 
pest ceased to rage : it was an Alpine wind, sweeping, 
resistless, over a mountain lake, succeeded by calm 
and sunshine. The people soon learned to look and 
wait for these grand displays of thought and pas- 
sion, and so they attended his ministry in goodly 
numbers. There was no diminution of our congre- 
gation. 

Dr. Easton's chief hindrance as a pastor was his 
lack of tact and power in conversation. He had 



244 Our Church in Sandburg, 



extremely little talent in this line — was dull and 
uneasy in company, and hence visited but little. 
Children were strangers to him; he did not under- 
stand their language, their feelings, their wants — 
had no sympathy with their fresh, young life. To 
the children of his Sunday-school and congregation 
he appeared very much as the distant Blue Ridge did 
to me in boyhood — a huge, unapproachable, incom- 
prehensible affair — something great in size, but cold 
and unlovable in nature. 

He lacked another gift essential to success — the 
gift of exhortation. His sermons were full of 
theology, his exhortations full of lifeless platitudes. 
Being largely destitute of feeling himself, he could 
not infuse it into others. His sermons were discus- 
sions of themes; he seldom appealed to experience, „ 
or sounded the heart-depths of'his hearers. When 
the bulky proportions of the discourse were pre- 
sented, his work was done, and he managed him- 
self somehow or other (no one knew how) through 
the week. When Sunday came again he was in his 
natural element, fresh and vigorous, but only to lie 
like a ship becalmed in mid-ocean through another 
six days of inaction. 

How much the Church flourished under this ad- 
ministration I have no need to say. If one was 
added to our roll I am not aware of it. There was, 
indeed, more or less animation at times, and the 
membership remained steadfast and uniform in life, 
but we made no stride forward into the field of con- 
quest — took no spoils from the enemy 

Howbeit, we were not without influence in the 



Our Church in Sandburg. 245 



community. There was some vitality in our meet- 
ings, and the presence and consistency of so many 
worthy professors could not fail to impress the out- 
side world in favor of religion. Our relations with 
other communions were pleasant, and in one case 
cordial. The Presbyterians were on very good terms 
with us. Their present pastor was a frank, candid 
gentleman, free from cant and guile — a decided im- 
provement on his predecessor. We always attended 
their service, and they ours, when a vacant Sunday 
or an extra occasion opened the way. The Baptists 
were not so cordial ; they had imbibed certain high- 
church notions, and discovered that they were the 
only true Church on earth, and had the only author- 
itative ministry and ordinances, and therefore it was 
unlawful for their ministers to associate officially 
with ours. Their pastor was a kind-hearted, pious 
man, and when applied to by the Methodist and 
Presbyterian pastors to join them in a union effort 
to awaken and save sinners, he replied : "You know 
what my Church holds on that subject; but, as we 
are all sinners alike, I reckon it will be no harm for 
us all to pray together." So he attended the prayer- 
meetings, but declined inviting us to his house of 
worship. We could not clearly see the distinction 
between praying together and preaching together; 
but we respected his peculiar opinions, and often en- 
joyed his earnest prayers. 

We could not help smiling at our good Baptist 
brothers when, about this very time, there came to 
Sandburg a very distinguished prelate of another 

exclusive denomination, and declared his Church to 
11* 



246 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



be the only true one, and his ministry the only true, 
apostolic, divinely authorized administrators of the 
ordinances of religion. He held this authority di- 
rectly from the apostles of Christ, and therefore all 
others — Baptists included — who presumed to preach 
and baptize without the sanction of his Church, were 
intruders, heretics, sectaries, whose acts were utterly 
j destitute of saving grace. The people got somewhat 
confused by these two only Churches; but I believe 
that the earnest testimony of our members in favor 
of a holy life and a sound experience, as a better guar- 
antee for heaven than an ordinance or a form, did 
more to maintain the truth and impress the people 
than the most successful controversy could have done. 
Neither of the only Churches gained much advantage. 

It is an ungrateful task to write any thing but 
good of a Christian woman, but the record of this 
year's affairs would not be complete without a state- 
ment of the part taken by the pastor's wife. She 
was a lady of culture, and of an active, energetic 
temperament; but not being a native of our lati- 
tude, she did not understand the habits of society; 
and, acting upon her indigenous views of things, 
oftener gave offense than pleasure to the sisterhood. 
Moreover, she was disposed to give advice, to pro- 
pose new measures, to find fault with established 
customs, to compare her raising with ours — of course, 
to the disadvantage of the latter ; and, worse than 
all, she indulged occasionally in confidential tattling, 
and thus endangered, for a time, the peace and har- 
mony of society. This was deplorable, and had 
there not been in our communion a large number 



Our Church in Sandburg. 247 



of prudent and pious women who loved each other, 
and loved the Church too well to suffer interrup- 
tion in their intercourse for insufficient reasons, no 
one can estimate the extent to which our interests 
would have been damaged. As it mercifully turned 
out, the threatened, and doubtless unintended, evil 
was averted by that spirit of confidence and fellow- 
ship which repels insinuations of wrong against 
loved and trusted friends. It is due to this incau- 
tious lady to say that she was a model housekeeper. 
The new parsonage was kept in neatness and order 
worthy of emulation. She was also a good mother : 
her children were trained to good manners and 
moral deportment, and grew up to respectable posi- 
tion, as I have since ascertained. 

If time does not cure evils, it often removes them. 
Not that I am pronouncing Dr. Easton's adminis- 
tration an evil — it was not exactly that, but it was 
not positively the opposite. He was capable of 
larger results than he accomplished. The brethren 
often inquired among themselves : " How is it that 
a man of his talents, learning, and acknowledged 
pulpit ability, produces such a vague impression on 
his congregation? He is sober, serious, thoughtful, 
and all that, but his sermons do no execution — his 
life wins no one to admire and desire religion.' 5 
They did not understand the man — he was an un- 
solved problem of human character. I can suggest 
no solution. He was the only pastor we ever had 
to whose heart I could never find the door — often 
wondered if it had any door. " To his own Master 
h» «*andeth or falleth." 



248 Our Church in Sandburg. 



CHAPTER XXIY. 

Twenty-ninth and thirtieth years — Brother English, pastor — 
Meets expectation — Wild delight — "Wins the children — New 
life — ''Servant of the Most High God" — Precious season — 
Scene in a boarding-house — Sick comforted — Sin rebuked — 
"Surely once the garden nourished" — His second term — 
Gets sick — Is patient — Brother Edwards goes home — Liquor- 
dealer's death — High-school wanes — Hie jacet — Thirty years 
ended. 

E glided imperceptibly from the Doctor's pas- 
torate into that of the Rev. Mr. English. 
Every thing was so ready for his reception that no 
stir was created by his arrival and induction into 
the parsonage. It was scarcely known that the ad- 
vent of a new preacher had created any public in- 
terest till Sunday's immense throng indicated the 
general recognition of the fact. 

And right well did Brother English meet our 
highest expectations. In the pulpit he showed him- 
self publicly for the first time — a comely person, six 
feet high, pretty well proportioned, with light hair, 
deep blue eyes, aquiline nose, and a bold, manly 
expression of countenance. His voice was sono- 
rous and strong, well modulated, and of sympa- 
thetic tone. His enunciation was remarkably dis- 
tinct, his language nervous — words well chosen and 
aptly uttered came forth in sentences full of clear 




Our Church in Sandburg. 249 



and unmistakable meaning. Best of all, there was 
spirit in his words. There was no mistake about it 
— we had a man of power in our pulpit once more. 
This was so manifest that none could doubt. The 
citadel of all hearts was carried in the first assault. 
We were full of joy. Some of the brethren, who 
had seen Sandburg Church in former days, could 
scarcely contain themselves, so delighted were they 
to hear the word of God spoken with power again. 
From that day forth Brother English was " master 
of the situation." Men naturally admire and sub- 
mit to superior abilities: all were ready to accept 
this man as a "captain of the host;" for all those 
whose hearts the Lord had touched felt the sympa- 
thetic thrill of heart answering to his heart-born 
words of gospel admonition and comfort, and were 
willing henceforth to be guided by his godly coun- 
sels. Mutual congratulations followed the service — 
brethren even called upon one another that after- 
noon, to see if each felt as pleased and happy as the 
other, until the question, "How do you like our 
new preacher?" was asked and answered by a large 
majority of the brotherhood. 

Brother English, having no secular cares to oc- 
cupy his time — for the parsonage was ready, and 
supplied with all manner of store — went forthwith 
to work in his vineyard. He sought the poor, and 
went into their lowly abodes; visited the rich, but 
not to feast on their dainties. He divided his time 
between out-door work and office work — read with 
diligence and care the best theological books, and 
wrote his best thoughts out in carefully-expressed 
11* 



250 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



detail. Thus, though approaching the meridian of 
life, he was daily growing in mental stature and 
moral vigor — his " profiting appeared to all." He 
had a peculiar art in winning the hearts of chil- 
dren. They loved him — his face carried sunshine 
into the family circle, and in the Sunday-school he 
was a regular, vigilant, encouraging pastor, as well 
as a diligent teacher. 

Our congregations, nearly always good, even un- 
der unpopular preachers, were now thickly jammed 
into every available portion of the house. The 
older members no longer attended worship from a 
sense of duty, without the additional incentive of 
expected benefit; nor did the younger go from 
habit or from denominational pride: there was life 
in the worship and zeal in the worshipers that made 
" the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, hon- 
orable." 

This one thing was observable in our pastor — he 
never failed. If he never rose above a certain 
plane, he never fell below it. We knew right well 
at what elevation to expect him, and seldom were 
we disappointed. "We anticipated every Sunday a 
carefully-studiecl sermon, thoroughly weighed and 
digested in its practical bearings, without a single 
elFort at display, and delivered with a sincerity and 
a directness which commended both preacher and 
sermon "to every man's conscience in the sight of 
TGod." 

Besides this, he was forcible and authoritative in 
appeals to the conscience, on the one hand, and 
to the authority of God, on the other — caring not so 



Our Church in Sandburg. 251 



much to convince the reason as to reach the heart, 
and declare the divinity of religion. 

What more than this did Paul require of Tim- 
othy, when he exhorted him to " make full proof of 
his ministry? 55 This proof of a divine call is found 
more convincingly in the matter, manner, and fruits 
of a man's preaching than in a long and doubtful 
chain of prelatical antecedents. I have known 
preachers who held and executed the visible office 
for many years, about whom there was all the time 
an unspoken question whether or not they were 
rightfully invested with these sacred functions — to 
w T hose bitterest invectives against sin malignant 
spirits seemed to say, " Jesus we know, but who are 
ye?" I have known others — and, thank God, 
these latter are more numerous than the former — 
who bore their credentials about, not in lofty claims 
and arrogant assumptions, but in the meekness and 
gentleness of Christ, receiving the unasked suffrage 
of all men: "These men are the servants of the 
Most High God, who show unto us the way of sal- 
vation." Brother English was one of these. 

The fair promises of this auspicious beginning 
were not disappointed. I do not now recollect how 
many months were spent in this diligent culture be- 
fore the fruits began to appear; but they did appear 
before very many moons had waxed and waned. 
It was not quite so deep and powerful as some 
revivals Our Church had enjoyed, but it was, never- 
theless, a grateful season of refreshing to believers, 
and the birth-date of many precious souls. The 
children and youth were numerically the largest 



252 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



beneficiaries. They flocked to the altar of prayer, 
and gave their young hearts to God in holy cove- 
nant, and happily testified to his power to bless and 
save. In one Christian house were four or five 
young ladies, boarding — pupils in the female acad- 
emy. During the progress of the revival, one Sun- 
day afternoon, one of these young ladies applied to 
the brother with whom they boarded for instruc- 
tion, stating that she felt that she was a sinner, and 
desired to seek forgiveness. He talked with her 
awhile, then began to sing. This brought the 
others into the room. Soon all were weeping 
and praying for mercy. Two or three brethren, 
living near, were called in, and all engaged in pray- 
ing for and directing these mourners- In a few 
hours four were rejoicing in the love of Jesus, and 
the fifth obtained peace that night. Thus the good 
work went on over town, and nothing was more 
common than for those who went from church sor- 
rowful to come to the next meeting rejoicing. It 
was delightful to mingle in these private scenes 
of prayer and praise, where the parlor or the family- 
chamber became, for the time, "none other than 
the house of God, and the gate of heaven." 

Brother English possessed, in a high degree, a 
talent for comforting the sick. He seemed to know 
intuitively how to address words of consolation to 
all grades of people in distress — removing doubts, 
encouraging hope, strengthening faith, and stimu- 
lating Christian fortitude. In those hours when 
Christians feel the greatest need of a pastor, he was 
prompt and cheerful to administer such relief as the 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



253 



" sure word of promise " addresses to those who are 
in affliction. 

Perhaps a rarer gift still was his ability to rebuke 
sin and retain the good-will of the sinner. He was 
blunt and positive in his dealings with error, and 
held all slack and wavering members to the line of 
duty, or caused them to get out of the way. I 
thought then that he was sometimes too stern, and 
did not mix enough mercy and forbearance with 
his reproofs and disciplinary dealings; yet I am 
not prepared to say that he dealt unjustly with any, 
or compassed the pruning off of any who were not 
already dead branches. Of these there were a few 
cases hurtful to the cause of Christ, to have neg- 
lected which would have been a standing reproach. 

Thus all the varied departments of pastoral work 
— the pulpit, the Sunday-school, family religion, the 
i altar of penitence, the sick and sorrowing, the de- 
linquent in duty— having vigorous and judicious at- 
tention, the former days of our highest prosperity 
dawned again upon our loved and cherished herit- 
age. I know not that at any era in these thirty 
years there was more of spirituality in worship, more 
devout application to duty, more fidelity to privilege, 
more evening and morning sacrifice on family al- 
tars, more distinct recognition by the world of our 
genuine Churchship, a clearer and more convincing 
testimony against wickedness, than during the pas- 
torate now going to record. And this applies as 
truly to his second year as to his first, for there was 
such manifest propriety in his return that it was so 

ordered without a dissenting voice. 
12 



254 Our Church w Sandburg. 



There is, then, no reason why I should enter into 
details of our affairs — the routine and matter-of- 
course affairs that make up the history of this year's 
transactions. They were, in most points, like those, 
of the last. 

Some little hindrance was experienced by the 
long sickness of the preacher; but his patience 
and meekness under the rod of affliction produced a 
favorable impression on all minds, so as to add, if 
possible, to his influence with the congregation 
when restored health replaced him in the pulpit. 
If it is pleasant to a preacher to know that his 
labors are appreciated, the overwhelming crowd 
that greeted his reappearance must have been most 
grateful to our popular pastor; but no one could 
tell how this affected him, for he was one of the few 
on whom applause makes no visible impression. 

We lost, this year, one of our purest men- — 
Brother Edwards — who died of consumption, in the 
prime of a blameless life. His patience in suffering, 
his calm trust in the Saviour while gradually ap- 
proaching the gate of death, were beautiful illustra- 
tions of the power and sufficiency of the Christian's 
hope. Grace abounded to him — God caused him to 
triumph through Jesus Christ. What else than 
grace can disarm the king of terrors? " Our people 
die well," was a fact in which Mr. Wesley exulted 
as an evidence of genuine conversion. May Meth- 
odism never forfeit this testimony ! How different 
from this was the final hour of poor old Mr. Couch ! 
Many years ago he had been excluded from the 
Church for selling whisky. This bad traffic h£ de- 



Our Church in Sandburg. 255 

fended and continued till failing fortune stripped 
him of his possessions and left him the poor reward 
of age and want — an " ill-matched pair, "as Burns 
declares. He struggled hard to find some peace of 
mind, begged the prayers of the Church, expressed 
a faint hope of pardon and acceptance, but died 
without leaving a satisfactory assurance that all was 
well. 

I exceedingly regret that I must allude, at this 
date, in humiliating terms, to the condition of our 
Conference-school. When last mentioned in this 
narrative, its finances were embarrassed, and fears 
of the future were forced upon its friends. IsTo one 
charged that its intrinsic merits were less than for- 
merly; but changes had passed over the country, 
railroads had brought up other centers of trade and 
education, so that our institution no longer enjoyed 
the monopoly of Church-patronage with which its 
career began; and, indeed, the very success with 
which our school was crowned in the first years of 
its existence contributed to its overthrow by stim- 
ulating the erection of others. Instead of concen- 
trating on one, the Conferences adjoining undertook 
to provide each for its own wants, and thus Sand- 
burg Institute was weakened, fell behind expenses, 
and w T ent into other hands for its debts. The hie 
jacet of its doom ought to have taught Methodists 
a wise;r lesson than they have learned therefrom; 
but perhaps we shall have to bequeath our experi- 
ence to yet another generation before the Church 
will profit by the failures of the past. 

"We are now to bid farewell to Brother English 



256 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



and his noble wife — a helpmeet for her preacher- 
husband — as they take train for Conference. Un- 
der the law, he cannot return to our charge, but we 
suggest that he be appointed Presiding Elder of the 
District, and make his home in Sandburg. I would 
gladly follow his grand career as an evangelist — 
gladly tell of the years that have gone over us since 
his departure — but I find that my promised record 
of thirty years is complete, and my task finished by 
limitation. These years form an era more eventful 
to many than the " thirty years' war" was to kings 
and princes; and lives of heroic action and sublime 
endeavor appear in these simple annals, far more 
glorious than the bloody exploits of Gustavus Adol- 
phus or Wallenstein. Precious are the memories 
of the treasured past! 



Our Church in Sandburg. 257 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Reflections — Gratulations— -Deductions. 

THE design of these pages would be inadequately 
accomplished were they to close with the simple 
statement of consecutive events to a given date. 
History furnishes data for reflection — its teachings 
can be properly understood only by patient digestion 
of its facts. For these facts the writer is not respon- 
sible; for just conclusions and profitable deductions 
from them, he and the reader are alike accountable 
to man, whose deeds they portray, and to God, 
whose providence they declare. The fathers have 
lived in vain if succeeding generations learn no wis- 
dom from their example. 

It must be pleasing to the reader, as it is most 
grateful to the writer of these annals, that they 
close at a time of peace and prosperity in and 
around Our Church. Had our task been to write a 
fiction, we might have sought or invented a tragic 
scene on which to drop the curtain. Had the lines 
fallen to us in less pleasant places, it might have 
been our lot to stop amid the ruins of our people 
and the desolations of our Zion, and, like weeping 
Jeremiah, to stand among the shattered relics of 

past magnificence and indite another "Book of 
12* 



258 Our Church in Sandburg. 



Lamentations." But, thank God, "who giveth us 
all things richly to enjoy," if we were pained to ac- 
knowledge a feeble beginning, and to record errors, 
and faults, and ignorance along the way, we have 
been cheered by success, encouraged by victory, en- 
riched by conquest, and have shouted to see "the 
pleasure of the Lord prosper in our hands." The 
narrative ends at a time when there is "peace upon 
Israel," when the firm foundations of our Zion bid 
defiance to her foes, when God "has made our 
mountain to stand strong." We have seen a living 
Church — planted, nurtured, trained, by a living min- 
istry — grow up "in the midst of a crooked and per- 
verse generation, holding forth the word of life," 
and commanding even the unwilling admiration of 
the wicked. The manifest presence of the Master 
wrung, at times, from scoffers and infidels, an ac- 
knowledgment of its divine original and super- 
human constitution. 

The influence of a living Church and a spiritual 
ministry is not confined within denominational lim- 
its. The spirit of Christianity is too large for the 
narrow domain of sectarian effort. Hence I believe, 
for I have seen, that our zeal provoked other branches 
of the Church to preach and seek after a higher 
religious life, and thus aided in vitalizing those or- 
ganizations which were older than Methodism, and 
were growing effete with formalism. Nor is this 
fact a newly-discovered or a vainly-claimed glory of 
our form of doctrine and discipline. Long before 
the date .of which I speak, and in reference to this 
same effect of Methodism in a wider field, the great 



Our Church in Sandburg, 



259 



Chalmers pronounced it " Christianity in earnest;" 
and four years before the date at which my narra- 
tive opens, Bishop McKendree addressed the Gen- 
eral Conference in the following language: "But 
the utility of our ministry and plan of spreading 
the gospel is not confined to our own Church. Our 
example and labors have a beneficial influence upon 
other denominations. It must be admitted that 
many who were formerly opposed not only to our 
traveling ministry, and the doctrines which are de- 
nominated Methodist doctrines, but also to that ex- 
perimental and practical religion which is supported 
by the direct witness of the Spirit, and for which 
we contend, are now warm advocates for missionary 
preachers, and speak favorably of virtue and piety, 
and even imitate us in many things. Thus the pro- 
priety of our system is admitted; and in this I do 
rejoice, and will rejoice. To what can this astonish- 
ing change be attributed with more probability than 
to the beneficial influence of the example of the 
Methodist ministry on other denominations ? " W hat 
the venerable Bishop claimed then for our ministry 
generally was true in the locality of Sandburg; and 
what he applies to the ministerial office is equally 
true of a living and working membership. Many 
professed Christians of that day, doubtless honest 
and sincere in their belief, held our doctrines in 
contempt, laughed at our emotional demonstrations 
— sometimes, perhaps, justly chargeable with ex- 
travagance — and pronounced the name of circuit- 
rider as the synonym of vagabond. I have lived to 
see them embrace our doctrines, profess and rejoice 



260 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



in our experience, and sit enraptured under the 
ministry of our preachers. "Thanks be to God 
who always causeth us to triumph ! " 

But little is said in the foregoing narrative con- 
cerning the visits and labors of our Presiding Elders, 
for the reason that these occasional benefits were en- 
joyed by us in common with other charges in the 
District. Once or twice their presence and sermons 
are mentioned, when these exerted a direct and man- 
ifest influence on our condition; yet, in the sum- 
ming up of the forces applied in our culture atid 
development, and in striving to render to each its 
just merit in the grand aggregate effect, it seems to 
me highly proper, if not necessary, to allude to this 
wisely-ordered division of ministerial labor. 

During the thirty years through which Our Church 
has passed under review, we had, if I remember ac- 
curately, some twelve or fourteen different Presid- 
ing Elders. My recollection is not very distinct as 
to a few of the first years, especially while we were 
connected with the circuit. Our " elders," as they 
were formerly called, were changed according to 
the exigencies of the work, for individual conven- 
ience, to meet modifications in the District bounda- 
ries; or, in a few cases, as death brought release 
and reward to toil-worn itinerants. A few of these 
officials were weak-minded men and inefficient work- 
ers, who had received the appointment through a 
misapprehension of their fitness for its duties; but 
they were, nevertheless, good and true in intention. 
Their pulpit efforts did no damage, except so far as 
their falling be}ow the standard of public opinion 



Our Church in Sandburg. 261 



led to conclusions unfavorable to the resources of 
the Conference. The discipline is so plain that it 
is difficult for a Presiding Elder to commit a serious 
blunder in administration, if he exercises common 
sense and abides by the letter of the law. Only one 
of all our elders was ever subjected to discipline for 
immorality. Perhaps he was innocent of the crime, 
but he lacked prudence and dignity, and hencefor- 
ward worked in less conspicuous places. One was, 
confessedly, too sour in disposition, too fond of re- 
proving thoughtless hearers, and too harsh and in- 
sulting in so doing. He dealt continually in bitter 
and harrowing tirades against fashion, making sad 
havoc of feathers, flounces, and ruffles, consigning 
all who wore them to § worse place than purgatory. 
This made him unpopular with the ladies, as well 
as with gentlemen who could see much beauty and 
no sin in extra millinery. Our congregations were 
small at his quarterly meetings. People do not love 
to be abused for their shortcomings. They go to 
church, indeed, expecting to hear their sins rebuked; 
they do not object to unvarnished denunciations of 
practices which they know to be wrong, but to have 
their tastes called in question, and classed along with 
mortal crimes, is considered by the world generally 
as exceedingly offensive. I cannot say that we con- 
demned our Presiding Elder for his untiring crusade 
against what he termed the infidel fashions of the 
day, but we did express to one another a wish that 
he would mix a little fatherly affection with his con- 
demnations, so as to win, by loving admonition, 
those whom he could not drive by threatened dam- 



262 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



nation. No doubt Our Church was too closely con- 
formed to the world in this respect — a thing much 
to be deplored, deeply to be repented of, but never 
to be cured by sepulchral groans or acidulated invec- 
tives. The fact is, our elder had become a mono- 
maniac on this subject; it was a hobby which he 
rode to every quarterly meeting, and he kept his 
" head-quarters in the saddle" as long as he re- 
mained. 

"With these exceptions, our Presiding Elders were 
men of ability — ministers of Christ, who came in 
his Spirit and magnified his name. Some of them 
were men of mark, who would have adorned the 
ministry in any age, who would have been the first 
of their class in any profession. Their preaching 
set forth the grand principles of the divine govern- 
ment, the deep mysteries of redemption, the moral 
necessity for regeneration, the just requirements of 
a holy law, the wholesome doctrine of justification 
by faith alone, and the sublime virtues of a holy 
life as essential to a saving hope in Christ — all with 
such clearness of statement, such force of argument, 
and such unction of the Holy Spirit, that believers 
were wonderfully built up, sinners were mightily 
convinced of sin, and mourners were brought to 
Jesus in holy and saving trust. Their visitations 
were seasons of grace — high festivals on the fat 
things of the gospel — times of refreshing from the 
presence of the Lord. Such ministers as these, es- 
pecially where they labor officially, and under a sense 
of responsibility — a larger responsibility than the 
local pastoral office imposes — cannot fail to impress 



Our Church in Sandburg. 263 



the public mind in favor of godliness, and to exert 
a quickening and encouraging influence on younger 
ministers and on the Church. As surely as Meth- 
odism is providential, the Presiding Eldership is 
providential; and as long as this honorable office is 
conferred only upon true and worthy men, so long 
will they continue to infuse life and health into the 
districts with whose spiritual guardianship they are 
invested. This is my deduction from thirty years' 
observation. 

In the preceding pages the names, characters, and 
works of twenty-six different ministers are put upon 
record. These I need not review ; but my long and 
familiar intercourse with men of this holy calling, 
and my earnest endeavor to assign to each one herein 
mentioned his full credit for influence exerted upon 
the community, have forced upon my mind certain 
convictions in regard to the Christian ministry which 
I must beg leave to write down in order. 

1. The ministry is not of the Church, though 
coming forth from it. It is of God — a calling of 
God — and must originate in a divine impression 
made upon the heart by the Holy Ghost, in order to 
be genuine and real. The Church cannot confer 
upon any man the right to preach ; he has the right 
only when God makes it his duty. All the Church 
can do in authorizing one of its members to preach 
the gospel is to indicate, by some significant act, its 
belief in the divine call of the candidate. Licens- 
ing and ordaining mean this much, and no more: 
that we believe the brother thus set apart to ex- 
pound the Scriptures and teach the same has re- 



264 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



ceived " a dispensation of the gospel," and we thus 
acknowledge him as a minister, instead of making 
him one. 

2. There is great diversity of gifts and .functions 
among true ministers. It is the special work of one 
to convince sinners and warn them to flee from the 
wrath to come; of another, to expound the way of 
salvation, and lead men directly to Christ: of an- 
other, to instruct the Church, to admonish and en- 
courage believers, and build them up in word and 
doctrine. It is true that every one may at times 
preach on subjects involved in the peculiar mission 
of the others, and do so profitably; but each man 
succeeds best when he speaks on those themes that 
unfold themselves most clearly to his mind, and im- 
press themselves most strongly upon his heart. 
There are some, I doubt not- — there were several 
among the twenty-six who preached to us in Sand- 
burg — who have a whole commission, who can 
preach equally well on all themes; but I speak of 
the general law that appears to me to prevail. Many 
scriptures will occur to the clerical reader confirm- 
atory of this opinion ; were I arguing the point, I 
would quote them, but I am only recording the im- 
pressions of experience. And if this opinion is 
correct, is not the itinerant system, by which every 
function of the ministry comes in contact with every 
portion of the field, the most in accord with the di- 
vine order, and best adapted to the work of spread- 
ing the gospel? 

3. The secret of success is not found in learning, 
in eloquence, in manner, in address, or in any ad- 



m 



Our Church in Sandburg. 265 

ventitious means, modes, or measures. These, one 
or all, are good, and not to be despised. In a very 
grave sense, some degree of learning — the higher 
the degree the better — may be said to be needful to 
the accomplishment of good. But neither this nor 
any other acquired gift, nor any natural talent, is 
the secret of power in the pulpit. " The unction 
from the Holy One" is the source of power: the in- 
dwelling Spirit gives point and force to the spoken 
word, so that it both wounds and heals. A polished 
and eloquent discourse may please the taste and ex- 
cite the feelings, and even feed the thought of the 
hearers; but if Christ is not in the sermon, the 
glow of feeling produced by it is as evanescent as 
the morning cloud. One or two of our most 
learned Sandburg pastors did less to promote the 
kingdom of Christ than some who knew less of 
literature, but more of spiritual religion; while 
those who combined the two, each in its highest 
state of culture, were men of the greatest power, 
and left by far the most durable monuments of their 
toils. 

4. Unworthy men sometimes get into the min- 
istry. Of these, a part are mistaken in their own 
impressions, and the Church errs in too hasty a 
sanction of their claims; and a part are deceivers, 
" false brethren, unawares brought in/' who hypo- 
critically impose upon the Church. The first sort, 
if honest and sincere, do little or no damage; the 
second are spots and blemishes on the fair scroll of 
the Church, till they are detected, convicted, and 
expelled. The wonder is not that any should suc- 
13 



266 Our Church in Sandburg. 



ceed in these false pretenses, but that so few make 
the attempt. But the greatest mystery to me has 
ever been that the preaching of hypocritical impos- 
tors seems to be effective for a season, and that some 
are brought to repentance by their word. Is it be- 
cause God will honor his word, even when pro- 
claimed in solemn mockery by a lying prophet ? Is 
it because Christ thus thwarts the designs of Satan, 
when he puts the livery of heaven upon these min- 
ions of perdition, thereby to waste and spoil the 
kingdom of God? Who can give a better solution 
than is implied in these questions? 

5. A zealous, earnest, studious, praying pastor 
always succeeds. He may not see the fruits of his 
labor at the time and in the manner he desires; but 
the fruits will mature — his " profiting will appear" — 
perhaps under the administration of another. I 
have seen preachers toil and pray through a whole 
year, and go away sorrowful because so little good 
seemed to be done: their successors, entering into 
the field thus carefully tilled, gathered a glorious 
harvest. These results appeared to superficial ob- 
servers to be obtained solely by those who were the 
present and visible instruments of the work, when 
the truth was, as our Lord affirms, " other men 
labored, and these entered into their labors." And 
even if these conspicuous results are not seen to 
follow such a ministry, there is good of a less ob- 
servable, but no less valuable, kind affected. The 
Church is kept wakeful and active ; infidelity is re- 
buked and silenced; conscience asserts its power in 
the unconverted, and checks their excesses; virtue 



Our Church in Sandburg. 267 



is made beautiful and attractive; and men respect 
the religion which they defer to seek. How closely 
— how almost inseparably— fidelity in the ministry 
stands connected with Church prosperity, with pub- 
lic morals, with all the noblest and tenderest inter- 
ests of mankind! 

The full results of such efforts can never be 
known. Even if there are no marked advances, 
are not retrograde motions prevented? Is not 
"good kept from going back?" 

What 's done we partly may compute, 
But know not what's resisted. 

And this resistance of evil — this check upon the 
madness of the world— this firm stand against the 
threatened charge of the foe — is often a grand vic- 
tory. He who holds a people in awe, makes sin 
less easy, gains time in men's hearts for sober reflec- 
tion, breaks the headlong force of bad habits, and 
brings salvation nearer. 

It must be confessed that our labors in Sandburg 
w x ere not entirely successful — all the people were not 
converted. But suppose there had been no Church 
and no preaching : what, in that case, would have 
been the situation ? All vice, no virtue — base pas- 
sions indulging brutal lust — no society but such 
as sordid interest cemented — no security but that 
confirmed by force — -no sublime manhood in men, 
no lovely womanhood in women — no virtue but 
selfishness and strength — the animal enthroned, the 
soul degraded. "Ye are the salt of the earth!" 
saith our Lord to his people. 



268 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



One of the most gratifying recollections of these 
times that passed over Our Church is, that the pas- 
toral teaching icas uniform. With some unimportant 
exceptions, they " walked by the same rule, and 
minded the same things." ~No preacher had to cor- 
rect the errors or remove the heresies of his prede- 
cessor. Each man, on entering upon his official 
career, knew what doctrines had been declared by 
those who had stood in that lot before. Kq doubt 
this unity of doctrine is one of the sinews of Meth- 
odism, strong, healthy, flexile, which has secured to 
it remarkably similar action in Europe and America. 
As a distinctive announcement of religion, as a vital 
system of Christian propagandism, Methodism be- 
gan its aggressions with a perfectly-defined the- 
ology; and having no doctrine of which to be 
ashamed, no complicated and involved proposition 
needing learned exposition or belligerent defense, it 
has invested its energies in proclaiming and declar- 
ing these simple and scriptural truths. Its preach- 
ing, therefore, being largely declarative and horta- 
tive, has ever been an appeal to scriptural authority 
on the one hand, and to the feelings and consciences 
of men on the other. A true Methodist preacher 
has more need of boldness to declare to the proud 
sinner, "I know that thou beiievest" the Bible to 
be true, than of logical acumen to convince the 
reason of the Divine authenticity of the book. 

Hence our Sandburg pastors were, with the few 
exceptions candidly noted, men of power in the 
pulpit. They all proclaimed the majesty of God, 
the authority of his law, the greatness, freeness, 



Our Church in Sandburg, 



269 



and richness of his mercy, the power of his grace, 
the sacrificial death of his Son, the gift and pervad- 
ing presence of his Spirit, the fall of man, the 
deadly nature of sin, the necessity of repentance to- 
ward God and faith in Christ as a condition of 
pardon, the justification and regeneration of the 
believing penitent, and eternal rewards and punish- 
ments. They taught all that to be happy they must 
be holy; that the simplest idea of religion involved 
a reformation — a great, thorough, total reformation 
— " an upright walk and a godly conversation." I do 
not remember one who could be accused of even 
hinting at a compromise with the world, or offering 
a truce to the flesh and the devil. Their testimony 
was, therefore, an unbroken chain of solemn and 
distinct witnessings for God and virtue, and against 
all forms of sin and wickedness. This is a history 
which any denomination might covet. 

The class of laborers known as local preachers 
had a large share in the training and development 
of Our Church. This class is peculiar to us — no 
other denomination possesses so efficient and relia- 
ble a reserve corps of ministerial strength. They 
occupy a middle ground between the people and the 
pastor; they understand the needs of the one, and 
sympathize with the burdens of the other; they 
fall into places made vacant by sickness or absence 
of the regular preacher; they occupy outposts and 
advanced stations, and thus duplicate the labors of 
the pastor; they are among the people in times of 
affliction, and carry the consolations of the gospel 
to the dying and bereaved when this could not oth- 
13* 



270 



Our Church in Sandburg. 



erwise be done; indeed, I hardly conceive of a con- 
dition in the Church and community in which their 
functions could be dispensed with without loss. 

During these three decades Our Church was 
greatly blessed in its local preachers. Some of 
them were men of no mean abilities — some were 
men of deep piety and fervent zeal — all of them 
contributed largely to our spiritual influence and to 
our general success; and when, not long before the 
time at which our history closes, the last of these 
ready- workers moved out of our bounds, we felt 
that he had left a vacuum that could be filled in no 
way but by one holding the same office as worthily 
as he had clone. I have heard intelligent members 
of other Churches expressing their admiration of 
ours as an aggressive form of Christianity, and at- 
tempting to assign the cause of our extraordinary 
success. They usually attribute it wholly to our 
itinerant system, which they pronounce " the best 
system of home missions in existence;" but they 
overlook that part of our economy by which we oc- 
cupy so many advance-posts at once, and fail to 
credit the local preacher with the efficient and in- 
valuable aid which he contributes to the cause. 
Without fee or reward, without salary or quarter- 
age, after working through six clays "for them of 
his own household," he gives the seventh to the 
Church — to mankind — for the Lord's glory and 
man's salvation. 

The names and memorials of those who lived 
and labored in fellowship with Our Church ought 
to be as imperishable as those of our pastors; but 



Our Church in Sandburg. . 271 



while the ministry, of every grade, is the prime and 
chief agency ordained of God for the propagation 
of the gospel, it is by no means the only agency — 
it is in no sense an omnipotent force. The people, 
the collective body of the Church, must work to- 
gether with the preachers in "the defense and con- 
firmation of the gospel." When "the Churches" — - 
the believing men and women in the first century — 
" walked in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of 
the Holy Ghost," they "were multiplied." I have 
witnessed the grandest displays of saving grace, of 
convicting and converting power, under the minis- 
try of feeble men, when the Church was alive and 
active— when "prayer was made without ceasing 
by the Church" for the salvation of sinners. And I 
have seen the most zealous and persevering efibrts of 
able ministers utterly fail in accomplishing any im- 
mediate and visible good, when the membership were 
cold, careless, prayerless. Whenever the people of 
God recognize their high-priesthood, and bear the 
souls of men upon their hearts before the mercy-seat, 
then the Lord " answers by fire," shedding forth the 
influences of his Spirit to awaken and convert 
the "dead in trespasses and in sins." This depend- 
ence of the ministry upon the cooperation of the 
laity is one of the mysteries of our holy religion. 
Where there is no Church, where no "light has 
shined," where no "salt of the earth" has touched 
the moral putridity of heathen masses, there the 
preacher stands solitary and alone in, responsibility 
for a faithful declaration of the word of life; but 
when once a Church is established, they become 



272 Our Church in Sandburg, 



witnesses of the resurrection and saving power of 
Jesus Christ, and the preacher is their spokesman, 
to proclaim the joint testimony of Jesus and his 
witnessing people. 

To attain the glorious ends set before us, we 
must heartily embrace and vitally feel this doctrine 
of aggregate and individual responsibility. Every 
Christian has his share of the burden to bear, his 
share of the work to do, if he hopes to realize a 
share of the glorious reward. The dear communion, 
whose annals I have here traced, should have been a 
thousand-fold more fruitful — hundreds who went 
from our midst to the " land of deepest shades" 
might have had hope instead of despair in the hour 
of death had the Church been all the time as faith- 
ful, and holy, and diligent, and persistent in its 
work as the tremendous issues involved impera- 
tively demand. 

During all these years Our Church entered upon 
no field so fertile, pursued no enterprise so fascinat- 
ing, performed no labor so remunerative, as the 
Sunday-school. From the date of its reorganiza- 
tion, after Sandburg became a station, there was 
never an interregnum. ' Some years were more 
marked by prosperity than others, but the insti- 
tution was as constant a part of our religious duty 
as public worship. When first undertaken, the 
fruitfulness of the work was not adequately under- 
stood, and some who doubted its utility, but yet de- 
voted themselves to it, lived to see rich returns 
accrue from their exertions. A well-managed Sun- 
day-school is to a Church what a nursery is to an 



Our Church in Sandburg. 273 



orchard, a stream to a reservoir, a recruiting-office 
to an army; it continually supplies the waste that 
death and other causes make in numbers, filling the 
places with intelligent and devoted members. 

I have seen, many times, the altar crowded with 
penitents who were all Sunday-school scholars; and 
from these very children of the Church, thus brought 
to Christ, I have seen, in after years, nearly, if not 
quite, every office known to local Methodism sup- 
plied with mature, wise, and devoted workers, while 
some of the same trained soldiers went forth as 
chosen captains, to lead the hosts of Israel ; and 
my experience compels the conclusion, that in no 
way can the Churchship of a denomination be more 
fully vindicated than by this reproductive fruitful- 
ness by which its faith and usages are perpetuated 
in vital and unbroken succession from generation 
to generation. 



THE END. 



V 



